Overview

Helping Clinical Sites Develop Interprofessional Care Pathways for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

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Format

Interactive Practice Guide

Time to Complete

1.25 hr(s).

Release Date

June 16, 2025

Expires On

June 16, 2026

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent but underdiagnosed chronic disease associated with high morbidity and mortality burdens. Primary care providers regularly care for high-risk patients, including those with overweight and obesity. Early recognition of high-risk patients, screening, and diagnosis are critical to ensuring timely initiation of therapy and reducing disease burden, but variable use of diagnostic methods and uncertainty around diagnostic tools has resulted in underdiagnosis of OSA. Moreover, the number of sleep specialists is insufficient to address the larger burden of OSA, leading to uneven access to care. Advances in diagnosis and treatment have created avenues to improve management in the primary care setting, but many practices require new protocols to optimally incorporate these functions into primary care practice.

To address these needs, multidisciplinary primary care teams must implement the latest advances in OSA screening, diagnosis, and treatment in patients with overweight, obesity, and other risk factors. This interactive practice guide interweaves education and practical guidance for easy integration of the latest evidence into routine clinical practices, processes, and workflows.

This activity is intended for primary care providers (physicians, NPs, and PAs) involved in the care of patients with OSA.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic disorder characterized by repetitive collapse of the upper airway during sleep. In the United States, OSA is common due to the high prevalence of risk factors, such as obesity and advanced age. The impacts of OSA cause major morbidity and may be life-threatening. Sleep disruptions caused by OSA can lead to impaired vigilance, daytime somnolence, performance deficits, morning headaches, mood disturbances, cognitive dysfunction, impaired workplace productivity, and motor vehicle accidents. OSA is a source of major morbidity and mortality, and providers must be knowledgeable and competent to identify those at risk and provide a timely diagnosis to ensure that patients receive optimal management.

Upon completion of this activity, learners will be able to:
• Implement routine OSA screening for patients with obesity and other OSA risk factors.
• Identify tools that can aid in screening patients for OSA.
• Initiate diagnostic workups for patients with suspected OSA.
• Evaluate results from OSA diagnostic studies.
• Implement multidisciplinary approaches to formulate tailored management strategies for OSA that account for patient preferences and new therapeutic options.

This educational activity is presented in collaboration with Rush University Medical Center and the Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL).

Supported by an educational grant from Lilly.

Atul Malhotra, MD (Chair)
Vice Chair of Medicine for Research
Research Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine, and Physiology
Peter C. Farrell Presidential Chair and Tenured Professor of Respiratory Medicine
President, American Thoracic Society
(2015-2016)
UC San Diego
San Diego, CA

Susan Glick, MD, MHPE (Faculty)

Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine

Director, EXPLORE RUSH

Leader, Educator Role

Rush University

Chicago, IL

It is the policy of the Interprofessional Continuing Education office at RUSH to ensure that its CE activities are independent, free of commercial bias. Therefore, we manage all financial relationships associated with accredited continuing education activities. RUSH asks everyone who has the ability to control or influence the content of an educational activity to disclose information about all of their financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. An ineligible company is an entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. There is no minimum threshold; individuals must disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies. Individuals must disclose regardless of their view of the relevance of relationships to education. Mechanisms are in place to identify and mitigate any potential conflicts of interest prior to the planning, implementation, or evaluation of the continuing education activity. If a financial relationship is identified for the person in control of content, conflict mitigation strategies will be used to mitigate the financial relationship before they assume their role.

Individuals in control of content for this activity have the following relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose and all financial relationships have been mitigated.

Atul Malhotra, MD

Advisor: Eli Lilly, Livanova, Powell Mansfield, Zoll

Susan Glick, MD, MHPE

No financial relationships to disclose.

Rush University Medical Center and the Office of Interprofessional Continuing Education staff members, ACHL staff members, and others involved with the planning, development, and review of the content for this activity have no relevant affiliations or financial relationships to disclose.

The content for this activity was developed independently of any ineligible company. All materials are included with permission. The opinions expressed are those of the faculty and are not to be construed as those of the publisher or grantor(s).

This educational activity was planned and produced in accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Recommendations involving clinical medicine in a continuing medical education (CME/CE) activity must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients. All scientific research referred to, reported, or used in CME/CE in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.

Unapproved Uses of Drugs/Devices: In accordance with requirements of the FDA, the audience is advised that information presented in this continuing medical education activity may contain references to unlabeled or unapproved uses of drugs or devices. Please refer to the FDA approved package insert for each drug/device for full prescribing/utilization information.

Discussion of scientific information on unapproved uses (SIUU), off-label, investigational, or experimental drug/device use: Antiobesity medications and GLP-1 receptor agonists not approved for OSA

This activity will take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete. To receive credit, learners are required to complete the pretest, view the online activity, and complete the posttest and evaluation. To receive credit, 75% must be achieved on the posttest. A certificate will be immediately available. There is no fee to participate in the activity or for the generation of the certificate.

For questions, contact McKenna Reinhard at mreinhard@achlcme.org or (877) 444-8435 ext. 121.

In support of improving patient care, Rush University Medical Center is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

This activity is being presented without bias and with commercial support.

Rush University Medical Center designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn credit toward the CME of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABS credit.

Rush University Medical Center designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 1.25 nursing contact hour(s).

McKenna Reinhard
mreinhard@achlcme.org
Phone: (773)714-0705 ext. 121

Overview

Helping Clinical Sites Develop Interprofessional Care Pathways for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

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