For patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, at-home sleep testing is an excellent option to both diagnose and treat sleep apnea in patients who don’t have other health issues. This summer Wilmington Health Sleep Medicine will be offering home sleep testing to certain patient populations. Sleep Medicine’s Douglas Lee, MD, FCCP, talked about the benefits of at-home sleep tests and the best patients for this type of testing. “Because of the inconvenience as well as the expensive nature of testing within a facility such as our sleep lab, a lot of the insurance companies now are pushing for home testing as a more inexpensive way to diagnose and treat sleep apnea in patients who don’t have other complicated diseases,” Dr. Lee said.

According to Dr. Lee, ideal patients for home sleep testing have a very high pretest probability of sleep apnea. The “poster child” for sleep apnea may also have some of the following attributes:

• Range in age from around 40-70• Snores• Wakes up a lot during the night• Tired during the day• Overweight• Borderline to high blood pressure

These patients may be executives, stay-at-home parents, or medical professionals with busy schedules that don’t allow time out to visit an inpatient sleep lab. “For ‘poster child’ patients, all we need to do is come up with a test they can take home that will diagnose them rather easily. The home sleep testing is one mechanism that can do this,” Dr. Lee said. “They take the monitor home and wear it. There’s an oxygen monitor on their fingers and some flow monitors they put in their nose that they sleep with, and it basically counts how often they stop breathing during the night, and we get a score. So it’s kind of like if you were having a home testing for your oxygen, but it’s a little more complex than that.”

Insurance companies are starting to require that patients have home sleep testing per-formed before any inpatient testing, because it’s a lot less expensive. In addition, insurance companies want to lower not only testing costs, but treatment costs as well. Newer C-PAP models are used to treat sleep apnea and actually determine what pressure to put patients on at home. These devices are easy for patients to use and understand. Please keep in mind that patients with sleep apnea AND diabetes, heart failure, pacemakers or arrhythmias, or other co-morbidities are not ideal patients for home sleep testing, as their results may be skewed.

wilmingtonhealth.com

Wilmington Health’s newsletter for referring physicians.S e C o N D e D I T I o N 2 0 1 3

Procedure Focus Wilmington Health to offer Sleep Apnea Patients At-Home Sleep Testing

Call Wilmington Health Sleep Medicine at 910.341.0814 if you have questions about home sleep testing.

Sleep Medicine’s Dr. Douglas Lee

Wilmington Health’s newsletter for referring physicians.

Left: Rheumatologist Dr. Ronald George, head of the Wilmington Health Rheumatology Osteoporosis Center

Above: Our new GE Lunar Prodigy bone density machine

Right: Sample of high-speed, high-quality images produced by the GE Lunar Prodigy bone density machine

Partnering in Care

When it comes to diagnosing bone loss, the Wilmington Health Rheumatology Osteoporosis Center is here for you and your patients. Call 910.815.7421 to learn more or refer your patients.

Rheumatologist Ronald George,

MD, PhD, head of the Wilmington

Health Rheumatology Osteoporosis

Center, is here to offer complete,

compassionate care to your

patients suffering from

osteoporosis.

Through our new Ge Lunar Prodigy bone density machine, we can take high-speed, high-quality images that allow our board-certified technologists to diagnose osteoporo-sis, predict fractures before they occur, and immediately send patient reports to you via fax or e-mail. Plus, we can provide complete diagnosis and treatment to your patients through the Rheumatology osteoporosis Center before turning them back over to your care.

In addition, you’ll find a number of helpful resources for patients on the Rheumatology department page at www.wilmingtonhealth.com/service/rheumatology. Patients can visit this page for instructions regarding their bone density screening. They can also print off our patient assessment forms to fill out prior to their visit, which will expedite their time in the office.

New Service Rheumatology osteoporosis Center: Comprehensive Care for High-Risk osteoporosis Patients

Wilmington Health is challenging and encourag-ing local families to take control of their family’s fitness. J’nelle Ruscetti, PA-C, initiated the evidence-

based Family Fit Challenge and is addressing the childhood weight problem through this eight-week family plan. The program is designed to not only treat children who are currently at an unhealthy weight but also to help prevent children from becoming an unhealthy weight. Each class will discuss various topics relating to childhood obesity through interactive games with families, exercising as a group, and assigning different challenges to the families for the upcoming week. As the program progresses, the difficulty increases. J’nelle’s mission is to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic starting with the Wilmington area. “Your gift is where your passion meets a desperate need, and I am passionate about the health of children,” said J’nelle. To learn more about how this program can benefit your patients, check out www.wilmingtonhealth.com/family-fit-challenge.

Quality Spotlight BCBSNC and Wilmington Health Launch Quality Program for oncology

Featured Specialty Infusion Center: Administering a Healthy Dose of Healing

Located in a new suite at 1202 Medical Center Drive, The Infusion Center at Wilmington Health is home to a dedicated medical team providing collaborative medical and emotional care that promotes healing and comfort. Drs. Ronald George, Justin Markow, and Paul Kamitsuka treat patients at The Infusion Center.

We treat a number of conditions through a variety of treatments. To learn more or refer your patients to The Infusion Center at Wilmington Health, please call 910.341.3453.

Training & Education Wilmington Health Family Fit Challenge

Dr. Ronald George Dr. Justin Markow Dr. Paul Kamitsuka

In an effort to ensure that all oncology patients throughout the state benefit from treatments that follow the latest evidence-based research in their community, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has launched the Blue Quality Physician ProgramSM for oncology in Wilmington. BCBSNC’s Blue Quality Physician ProgramSM for oncology is designed to promote excellence in cancer care by helping oncology practices create a culture of practitioners working together, consulting, and providing solutions for the best treatment outcomes. The program provides residents of Wilming-ton access to quality oncology care similar to major medical universities and healthcare systems with the convenience to patients of staying in the greater Wilmington area.

In 2012, BCBSNC and Wilmington Health established a physician-led Accountable Care organization (ACo). Continuing its relationship with BCBSNC to improve health outcomes, Wilmington Health’s participation in Blue Quality Physician Program for oncology continues its dedication to achieving this goal. “Wilmington Health is proud to be selected as a pioneer participant in the Blue Quality Physician Program for oncology. The strong relationship established between our two organizations is dedicated to improving the healthcare delivered to the communities we serve,” said Jeff James, Wilmington Health Chief executive officer. “our entire oncology team looks forward to collaborating with national leaders in oncology and implementing scientifically proven best practices to improve our patients’ health and satisfaction with the care they receive.”

Justin Markow, DO, heads Wilmington Health Oncology, to refer your patients to him, please call 910.815.7391.

Urgent CareOpen 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily

Monkey Junction5245 South College Road, Wilmington 910.392.7806

Jacksonville1899 North Marine Boulevard, Jacksonville910.347.1515

Convenient CareOpen 12-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday & Sunday

Porters Neck8108-B Market Street, Wilmington910.686.2870

Brunswick Forest1333 South Dickinson Drive, Suite 140, Leland910.371.7695

Partnering in Care Wilmington Health’s newsletter for referring physicians.

Wilmington Health offers Urgent

Care and Convenient Care to help

treat patients’ and non-patients’

non-emergency conditions.

These services are perfect for weekends and after hours, because walk-ins are al-ways welcome, and each visit costs only a doctor’s co-pay, not an emergency room visit. Please let your patients know about Wilmington Health’s walk-in services!

After Hours Care Urgent Care and Convenient Care

New Provider Dr. Philip Brown expands Vascular Team

This summer, remind your patients to keep their skin protected with a broad-spectrum, SPF 30 or higher sunscreen! It’s important on cloudy days and in the car too. Wilmington Health Dermatology welcomes referrals!

Dermatology Summer Skin Safety

To refer your patients to Wilmington Health Dermatology, call our Silver Stream Lane office at 910.395.3477 or Porters Neck at 910.796.7767.

Philip Brown Jr., MD, FACS, Welcomes John McElhinney, PA-C John will be assisting Dr. Brown in Vascular Surgery and in the Center for endovascular Therapy. He will evaluate patients, assist in the operating room, and provide pre- and post-surgical care.

John McElhinney, PA-C

Dr. Philip Brown

Dr. Laura TannerSilver Stream Lane

Dr. James AppelPorters Neck