Itamar Medical and Sleep Data Team Up For Home Sleep Apnea Testing and Treatment

The integration, targeting cardiologists, features the BetterNight virtual care platform and Itamar Medical’s WatchPAT diagnostic services.

• By Haley Samsel
• Apr 09, 2020

Israeli medical technology company Itamar Medical and San Diego-based sleep therapy company Sleep Data have partnered to increase patient access to sleep apnea testing at home, the companies announced this week.

The aim is to provide referring physicians, both in the sleep and non-sleep fields, with an “integrated and streamlined solution,” according to a press release. Itamar Medical’s WatchPAT portable diagnostic device and platform will provide patients with a diagnostic study and facilitate a consultation with a physician for study interpretation and prescriptions if necessary.

On the other end of the equation, Sleep Data’s BetterNight virtual care platform will provide a CPAP therapy regimen and conduct remote monitoring of the patient’s adherence to the prescription. The platform will also manage insurance coverage, verification, preauthorization and billing, according to the release.

Physicians, particularly cardiologists, know the negative effects of sleep disorders on their patients but face a “variety of hurdles” in helping patients receive testing and appropriate treatment, said Gilad Glick, the president and CEO of Itamar Medical.

“This is even more challenging today due to the COVID-19 pandemic as so many patients must stay at home and access to in-lab testing is limited,” Glick said. “This agreement demonstrates our commitment in working with leaders across the sleep apnea ecosystem to add home care options for sleep apnea management and addressing the global sleep apnea epidemic.”

With an estimated 60 million people in the U.S. living with undiagnosed sleep apnea, the companies believe there is a need for better home-based testing and care. The new integration of WatchPAT and BetterNight will make it easier for patients to convert from diagnosis to treatment and improve adherence rates, company leaders said.

“WatchPAT ONE allows patients to access highly accurate and data-rich sleep apnea testing from the comfort of their homes, eliminating the barriers associated with overnight testing at a sleep clinic and reducing infection risk,” Dr. Dominic Munafo, the chief medical officer at BetterNight said. “We are excited to collaborate with Itamar Medical in bridging the gap between a cardiologist’s sleep study referral and effective therapy."