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The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sleep Medicine Services

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COVID-19 and Sleep: A Global Outlook

Part of the book series: Progress in Sleep Research ((PSR))

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Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant disruption in medical service delivery, leading to adaptation of innovative ways to provide sleep medicine care. In the acute phase, the focus was on navigation of infection control ventilation guidance, and procedures for clinic spaces and staff areas, as well as assimilating new scientific data, balancing staff allocation demands, and evolving public health and institutional policies. Sleep laboratory services were impacted substantially, and novel changes to protocols and processes were made to meet clinical needs. Alternative pathways for care, including telemedicine and remote testing, became overnight mainstays of practice. Payment models were adjusted as well, enabled by temporary changes in payor policy. Subsequently, focus had shifted to include vaccination policy and increasing attention to workforce-related issues, such as scarcity and burnout, as well as the impact healthcare access and outcomes disparities. Though more research and integration are needed, sleep medicine as a field has proven to be flexible, dynamic, and creative in finding ways to meet the evolving needs of patients despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland Sleep Laboratory, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Jennifer Y. So

  2. Division of Pediatric Pulmonary, Asthma, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Pediatrics; and by courtesy Division of Sleep Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Shannon S. Sullivan

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  1. Jennifer Y. So
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  2. Shannon S. Sullivan
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Correspondence to Jennifer Y. So .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmed BaHammam

  2. Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    S. R. Pandi-Perumal

  3. College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, Bahrain

    Haitham Jahrami

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So, J.Y., Sullivan, S.S. (2023). The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sleep Medicine Services. In: BaHammam, A., Pandi-Perumal, S.R., Jahrami, H. (eds) COVID-19 and Sleep: A Global Outlook. Progress in Sleep Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0240-8_19

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