Primary Care Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder characterized by upper airway collapse during sleep, is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated. The goal of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of utilizing a targeted screening protocol to identify previously undiagnosed OSA in an adult primary care population. Methods: This prospective quality improvement project included 210 patients in the Jefferson Department of Family Medicine not previously diagnosed with OSA. These patients were targeted based on 3 STOP-BANG criteria: hypertension, age \u3e50 years, and BMI \u3e35 kg/m2. Patients were initially contacted by mail, followed by 3 weekly phone calls. Patients were screened over the phone with the full STOP-BANG questionnaire, which identifies patients at high risk for OSA. Patients who scored 6 or above were identified as high risk of OSA and referred for sleep study testing. Results: Of the 210 patients who were identified, 113 were contacted by phone; 20 patients had a STOP-BANG score of ≥ 6 (17.7%). Of the 6 patients that completed a sleep study, all 6 of the patients (100%) were diagnosed with OSA. Data collection is currently ongoing as we continue to follow up with patients. Discussion: Preliminary findings indicate that our targeted protocol consisting of EMR screening, followed by phone calls is an effective method to identify high-risk OSA patients. We are currently testing ways to improve patient yield by editing letters and scripts, using Doximity Dialer, and calling patients at staggered times, including outside of work hours