Glen Burnie, MD, February 16, 2012 -- NovaSom, Inc., the leader in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) home testing and cost-containment solutions, has announced UnitedHealthcare plan participants now have access to NovaSom home sleep testing services for sleep apnea diagnosis. Home sleep testing is a clinically equivalent alternative to in-facility sleep testing that can be performed from the comfort and privacy of a patient’s home, at a fraction of the cost.
NovaSom will utilize its field-based provider relations team to educate physicians on appropriate screening parameters that will help identify clinically appropriate patients for home sleep testing. NovaSom will also make available a customized, provider-friendly workflow process aligned with prior authorization requirements to assure cost-effective diagnosis and initiation of treatment through its proprietary cloud-based MediTrack® System.
“OSA is one of the most serious and under-diagnosed medical problems in the United States, generating significant medical expense. Currently, an estimated 95 percent of OSA testing is performed in sleep labs, though research shows home sleep testing is clinically appropriate for up to 80 percent of patients,” said Richard Hassett, MD, CEO, NovaSom.“Patients and primary care physicians prefer the convenience, privacy, easy-access, accuracy and cost savings associated with NovaSom’s home sleep tests. We are pleased to partner with UnitedHealthcare, expanding our industry-leading national payer relationships and bringing convenient, affordable home testing to OSA sufferers nationwide.”
NovaSom is the industry leader in home sleep testing for OSA, with the first FDA-cleared device and over 10 years of experience in home sleep diagnostics. NovaSom’s home sleep testing technology monitors the five parameters recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) to diagnose OSA, and has been proven clinically equivalent to sleep lab studies in two peer-reviewed clinical publications. NovaSom is fully accredited by the Joint Commission as an Ambulatory Care Sleep Diagnostic Center and is CMS approved as an Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility.
For more information about NovaSom home sleep testing, please visit www.NovaSom.com.
About OSA
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects an estimated 18 million Americans. However, a startling 85 percent of sufferers are undiagnosed and untreated, generating significant clinical complications and medical expense for patients and the healthcare system. Nearly half of all OSA patients also suffer from one or more serious health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or heart failure that is either aggravated or caused by OSA. Treating OSA reduces medical expenses, improves patient quality of life and lowers associated health risks.
About NovaSom, Inc.
NovaSom, Inc. is the market leader in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) home testing, with the first FDA-cleared system and more than 10 years of experience in home sleep diagnostics. It is the manufacturer of NovaSom® HST and second generation AccuSom™ HST. Together with its proprietary cloud-based MediTrack® OSA management platform, NovaSom’s home sleep testing technology has been shown to provide in-home, clinically equivalent diagnosis of OSA at a significantly reduced cost as compared to sleep lab testing. Through partnerships with major health insurers, the NovaSom HST is covered for over 165 million U.S. lives as of January 1, 2012.
NovaSom also offers comprehensive service programs that are utilized by payers and physicians nationwide, including its unique Payer Solutions Program that enables health insurers to realize significant cost saving by leveraging proven managed care utilization tools to redirect OSA testing to the home. Its unique Study Viewer™ resides in the Meditrack® physician portal provides ordering and interpreting physicians secure access to test data and allows for efficient same-day diagnosis. NovaSom is accredited by the Joint Commission as an Ambulatory Care Sleep Diagnostic Center and is approved by CMS as an Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility. For more information, visit www.NovaSom.com.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 650,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
