Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is disrupted while their sleeping. The disorder is fairly common and can cause people to have one or several pauses or to breathe shallowly while they’re sleeping. These breathing pauses can last anywhere from several seconds to a couple of minutes and typically occur thirty times or more within an hour. Normal breathing will resume with a choking sound or a loud snort.ow is Sleep Apnea a Threat to Your Health?

Sleep apnea is a chronic condition and for many people with this condition, they go undiagnosed since it can’t be detected from a routine office visit. There is no blood test that exists to diagnose the condition either, so it often goes untreated. This condition is a threat to a person’s health since it disrupts their sleep. When a person’s breathing becomes shallow or pauses, they’re moved out of deep sleep and into a lighter stage of sleep. This results in a person’s quality of sleep being poor which can lead to a person feeling tired throughout the day. Sleep apnea is even the leading cause of people having excessive daytime sleepiness.

Poor quality of sleep affects other areas of health too because of sleep apnea. When the condition goes untreated, it increases the risk of the following health conditions:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Obesity
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Heart failure
• Driving or work-related accidents
• Arrhythmia or irregular heartbeats

How Can People Find Out if they have Sleep Apnea?

One of the most common ways for people to find out if suffer from sleep apnea is to do an overnight stay at a facility where can record the sleeping habits of the patients. The pulse oximetry test is a prime example of this and is approved by Medicare, referred to ad IDTF or “Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility.” Supported by VirtuOx Inc. the test provides an ideal way to determine if an individual is a chronic sufferer sleep apnea.

The benefit to this is CMS requires claims for home oxygen therapy must be supported by valid test results that have been “performed by a qualified provider of the supplier of laboratory services”, such as VirtuOx. CMS released a new policy in 2005 that is related to Patient Self-Administered Overnight Oximetry Testing.

Thanks to these new guidelines, they have enabled VirtuOx to develop a web based communication software to allow DME providers to bring the oximetry testing devices to and from a patient’s home.

How this Benefits You

One of the drawbacks to doing an overnight sleep test is the results may be inaccurate since people are less likely to achieve deep sleep in an unfamiliar environment. This change in policy for an oximetry test allows people to sleep in the comfort of their own home instead of traveling to a facility.

The oximeter connects to a PC and uploads the test data to VirtuOx’s HIPPA compliant servers. The software application then creates a detailed report that is faxed to the patient’s treating physician who may order more home oxygen. These tests are ideal for patients since more accurate results can be drawn from sleeping in an environment they’re familiar and comfortable with instead of an unfamiliar one.

The oximetry test can only be performed when VirtuOx has received a written order from a physician and DME has received a copy of the report too when VirtuOx confirms the receipt of the patient signed by Assignment of Benefits Form.

Who Can Use the VirtuOx?

The oximetry or VirtuOx web application can be used by any DME provider so long as they create an account through a VirtuOx customer service representative. The software application is compatible with VirtuOx VPOD oximeters, Noni, and Respironics. Another benefit of the software is it provides a one-page summary report and a multiple page detailed report. The reports are easy to read and provide detailed information, including graphs for physicians to look over.

Another benefit of using this software application is DME providers are able to keep an accurate census on their oxygen patients by using the customizable marketing flyers, procedures, and sample prescriptions, and procedures. Providers are able to track their current success by using the Executive on Demand Dashboard which provides tools they can use to drill into and track. Providers can track the number of referrals for each physician, non-qualified vs. qualified patients, DSO for testing, and more. The comprehensive nature of the dashboard helps DME to utilize the oximetry testing services online.