Sleep Study

Numbers don't lie. The proof is in the pudding. Both of these familiar adages could be used to describe the exploding market growth for treatment of sleep-disordered breathing. But it could also be said that if it sounds too good to be true, it just might be.

SDB is a strong segment in home health care, but some experts warn that does not guarantee instant success. Home medical equipment providers must make sure the market is right for their companies and, if it is, that they can provide the necessary service to patients and remain profitable.

The growth rate of the SDB market continues to hit double-digit gains. And as awareness continues to spread, potential remains for even better performance in the near future. Currently, it is estimated that 18 million Americans have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, and millions more may be undiagnosed.

According to Invacare Corp.'s Ann McGregor, vice president of sleep, “The market is still growing at 15 to 20 percent, although there are some securities reports that show in the next couple of years it may grow faster at a rate of 22 percent.”

On average, sleep growth is estimated to continue at 20 percent, says Dave Myers, Respironics' director of marketing for SDB. “You are going to find certain areas that grow more and other areas that grow less based on how many labs there are in the area, how much communication there is with the labs and the labs' capability of getting people tested,” he explains.

Myers' comment on testing is certainly a factor. Awareness of SDB and other sleep disorders is on the rise, placing a high demand on sleep labs — and creating opportunities for the HME industry.

Media attention, consumer awareness campaigns and substantiated clinical research have been beneficial in educating SDB patients about their disease and its risks. Fortunately, this has also had an impact on general practitioners and how they screen their patients.

“Primary care doctors want to know more; they have known that for years they haven't been doing that great of a job in truly diagnosing the cause of people's sleep problems,” says Ron Richard, ResMed's senior vice president of strategic marketing initiatives. “They have just generically been giving [patients] a prescription for Ambien or another drug that masks the symptoms. They are not getting to the root cause of their problem.”