AMGA Launches National Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Routine Use of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Assessments and Follow-Up with High-Risk Patients

Alexandria, VA-- AMGA has launched a quality improvement initiative aimed at improving the routine use of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) assessments, referrals to sleep specialists, and follow-up for patients at high-risk for OSA. Partnering with six leading healthcare organizations—Hackensack Meridian Health, Ochsner Health, The Portland Clinic, Shannon Health, SIMED Health, and Valley Health System—AMGA seeks to address gaps in assessment, diagnosis, and follow-up for OSA in high-risk patients.

OSA is estimated to occur in 25%-30% of men and 9%-17% women; however, nearly 80% of individuals with OSA are undiagnosed. Severe OSA increases the risk of developing serious comorbidities, including cardiac arrythmias (by 3-4 times increased risk) and stroke (by 3.8 times increased risk), and is associated with greater insulin resistance and diabetes risk. Patients with untreated OSA incur costs approximately 1.8 times higher than similar patients without OSA, representing a significant and largely hidden economic burden. Treatment can reduce per member per month medical spend by approximately 20%. 

Barriers to routine assessments, referrals, and follow-up include coordination and collaboration across multidisciplinary teams, knowledge and confidence administering screening tools and interpreting results, barriers to home sleep study and in-lab sleep study completion, and variable workflows. AMGA’s 21-month initiative will engage multidisciplinary teams—including primary care, sleep specialists, hospitalists, and health services researchers—to identify root causes and implement targeted interventions. These interventions will target the primary outcomes of increasing OSA screening, completion of a sleep study test, and new OSA diagnosis among high-risk patients. Standardized outcome measures will benchmark progress across the six participating healthcare organizations. Findings and best practices will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, white papers, and AMGA’s extensive network, reaching more than 400 member organizations.

“Nearly 80% of people living with OSA don’t know it, and that diagnostic gap carries real consequences in terms of cardiovascular risk, metabolic disease, and avoidable healthcare costs,” stated Elizabeth Ciemins, PhD, MPH, MA, AMGA’s chief research officer. “This initiative is built to give healthcare organizations the evidence, tools, peer benchmarking, and shared learning they need to close that gap by improving OSA identification, diagnostic follow-through, and ultimately outcomes for their highest-risk patients.” 

This activity is supported by an independent grant from Lilly. 
 

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About AMGA
AMGA is a trade association leading the transformation of healthcare in America. Representing multispecialty medical groups and integrated systems of care, we advocate, educate, innovate, and empower our members to deliver the next level of high-performance health. AMGA is the national voice promoting awareness of our members’ recognized excellence in the delivery of coordinated, high-quality, high-value care. More than 175,000 physicians practice in our member organizations, delivering care to one in three Americans.