University of Arizona sleep medicine researcher Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, was among three grant recipients for the AASM Foundation, the foundation of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, featured in a recent FOCUS Newsletter article that the foundation posted to its website.
All three have received 2017 Strategic Research Awards for projects that focus on the role of telemedicine, using the AASM SleepTM platform, in the evaluation and management of patients with insomnia.
Dr. Parthasarathy is a professor of medicine, interim chief of the UA Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, director of the UA Health Sciences Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences and director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson.
Standard setup for a polysomnogram for sleep studies, with a) the patient and b) graphical interface—click image to enlarge. (Courtesy of NHLBI/NIH)
In spring 2017, he received a $250,000 award from the AASM Foundation for a study, “Non-inferiority Study of Telemedicine Versus Conventional CBT-I in Recently Hospitalized Patients with Insomnia,” to evaluate how telemedicine can play a role in the delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).
Dr. Parthasarathy’s work looked at recently hospitalized patients recuperating in their homes who may have found it difficult to return for weekly visits with a clinical psychologist and preferred the convenience of telemedicine CBT-I administered in their homes.
“Our program of research is aimed at understanding whether telemedicine approaches to treatment of insomnia can improve patient-centered outcomes and reduce re-hospitalization and healthcare utilization,” he said.
The article, “Better Together,” was posted on Dec. 10, 2018. It can be seen here: https://foundation.aasm.org/better-together/
In a separate section, the work of Daniel Combs, MD, a pediatric sleep medicine specialist at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson is spotlighted as well. Dr. Combs was the recipient of a 2016 American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM) Junior Faculty Research Award through the AASM Foundation.
ALSO SEE:
"New Website for UA Sleep Center a Great Place to Catch Some Zzzzs" | Posted Dec. 4, 2018
“Pulmonary Chief Dr. Parthasarathy to Help NIH Prioritize Research on Science of Sleep” | Posted Nov. 30, 2018
“Sleep Center Director Gets $250K Grant to Evaluate Telemedicine Consults for Insomnia Patients” | Posted May 18, 2017