Legal liability and evidence gaps

In this episode of Talking Sleep, host Dr. Seema Khosla welcomes Dr. Reena Mehra, professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, and Dr. Dennis Auckley, professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, to discuss the newly released AASM clinical practice guidelines for evaluating and managing obstructive sleep apnea in hospitalized adults.

The guidelines address a significant gap in inpatient care: how to systematically screen for sleep apnea in hospitalized patients, prioritize high-risk groups, determine when and where to perform testing, and ensure appropriate outpatient follow-up. Dr. Mehra and Dr. Auckley explain the impetus behind developing these guidelines and the PICO question process used to examine existing evidence, acknowledging the challenges of working with limited data in this emerging field.

The conversation systematically walks through the four key recommendations: in-hospital screening for OSA as part of an evaluation and management pathway, use of inpatient PAP treatment for newly diagnosed or untreated moderate-to-severe OSA, availability of sleep medicine consultation, and implementation of discharge management plans to ensure timely diagnosis and effective outpatient management.

Practical implementation receives extensive attention. How should patients be screened—using STOP-Bang or facility-specific methods? Should screening be built into the EMR? Which patient populations and hospital units should be prioritized? Who performs the screening—sleep navigators, nursing staff, or hospitalists? Can sleep consultations be conducted via telemedicine at the bedside? The experts emphasize the critical need for a program champion and comprehensive education initiatives.

Dr. Auckley shares invaluable lessons from his experience creating an inpatient sleep program, discussing what he wishes he'd known before starting and practical insights gained through implementation. A particularly frustrating issue receives attention: patients who bring their own PAP devices to the hospital but never have them set up or used during their stay. The guidelines address this common scenario and provide frameworks for ensuring treated patients continue therapy during hospitalization.

Legal liability considerations are explored: What responsibilities exist for untreated patients diagnosed with OSA during hospitalization? What about high-risk patients who haven't been formally diagnosed? The experts discuss strategies for ensuring outpatient follow-up, recognizing that effective discharge planning is essential for translating inpatient identification into long-term management.

Whether you're considering establishing an inpatient sleep program, frustrated by gaps in hospital-based sleep apnea care, or seeking evidence-based approaches to identifying and managing OSA in hospitalized patients, this episode provides essential guidance and practical implementation strategies.

Join us for this important discussion about bringing systematic sleep apnea evaluation and management into the inpatient setting.