WHY PRECISION SLEEP SOLUTIONS?
Precision Sleep Solutions pioneered fatigue management, developing sleep apnea solutions that fit the unique needs of the transportation industry:
Leadership
- First company to develop an integrated national service program for the screening, testing, dispensing, treatment and remote monitoring of CDL drivers and other commercial operators
- First company to design and implement a patented employer-driven obstructive sleep apnea program on a national level
- Recognized for excellence by the National Sleep Foundation and the American Sleep Apnea Association
Expertise
- Customized sleep apnea management models that have proven successful for numerous transportation and safety-sensitive organizations
- Over 86,000 commercial operators screened, tested, and treated–with more added every day
Innovation
- Our proprietary SomniSage® operator surveying tool, which is highly predictive and accurately identifies at-risk operators within your fleet
- Our patented "Operator-Centric" process that utilizes state of the art, minimally disruptive technologies for the testing, treatment, and monitoring of sleep apnea in your mobile workforce
Untreated sleep apnea raises the risk of serious, preventable crashes and other operator accidents.
Untreated sleep apnea affects the quality of sleep, which has far-ranging effects in the body, including cognitive impairments related to diminished vigilance and alertness. Oftentimes this impairment is not recognized or is consciously denied by the operator. Mitigating the effects of sleep apnea on the commercial driver population continues to be a high priority recommendation from the NTSB, year after year.
The prevalence of sleep apnea in safety-sensitive occupations is considerably higher than in the general population. Depending on average age, sleep apnea may affect 28% of your operator population.
Why Sleep Apnea Risk Mitigation Matters, By the Numbers
$13,000
Average cost to the carrier of a DOT-reportable accident. An effective sleep apnea management program can recover a mid-sized carrier retrievable safety-related costs amounting to over $200,000 per year.
5x
greater risk of serious, preventable crashes for commercial operators with untreated sleep apnea, compared to those who have been treated1. The risk of serious DOT-reportable accidents occurring in a driver with treated sleep apnea was the same as in a driver without sleep apnea.
$3.6 Million
The average cost of a large truck crash involving a fatality.
Treated drivers compliant with treatment have the same crash risk as drivers who do not have OSA. Drivers who were positive for OSA, but non-compliant with treatment had a preventable DOT-reportable crash rate that was fivefold greater than that of matched controls (0.070 versus o.014 per 100,000 miles).
Successful treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in commercial operators can improve associated comorbidities.
Sleep apnea causes repetitive obstructions to airflow, with associated drops in blood oxygen levels. These drops result in systemic inflammation throughout the body of the afflicted operator, ultimately contributing to a higher likelihood of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, heart rhythm problems, and dementia.
Health Costs Associated with Sleep Apnea
2x
Untreated sleep apnea patients consume twice the healthcare resources as treated patients or individuals without the condition.
$301-$405
Average additional health costs incurred by untreated sleep apnea commercial drivers per month, per driver, according to a joint study between PSS, Harvard University, and Virginia Tech2.
Recover Costs
If your company operates a self-funded employee health insurance program, these health costs are recoverable.
Per Driver Per Month Health Costs
Not all sleep apnea programs are cost-effective, nor will they be a good fit for your mobile workforce.
Here are some components of an effective sleep apnea program:
- The Program must utilize a highly predictive screening process that effectively identifies only at-risk operators.
- The Program must employ state-of-the-art technologies for home study testing to deliver rapid, accurate and cost-effective sleep test results.
- The Program must deliver "same day" test results to the operator once testing is completed.
- The Program must provide expedited CPAP dispensing and instruction for operators testing positive for sleep apnea to commence treatment as quickly as possible to minimize disruptions to driver productivity.
- The Program must offer immediate, personalized clinical treatment and support by certified sleep clinicians to educate, mentor and support newly diagnosed operators to acclimate to CPAP treatment in the first 60 days of use.
- The Program must offer cutting edge CPAP equipment that incorporates wireless monitoring capabilities to assure operator compliance to medically recommended CPAP treatment standards.
- The Program must provide the carrier with fully customizable, comprehensive report summaries on the Sleep Apnea Management Program on a regular basis.
- The Program must offer a comprehensive inventory of replacement consumable supplies to the CPAP equipment - tubes, masks, filters, etc.
- The Program must offer ongoing support to participating operators for questions or requests related to treatment compliance, documentation for DOT exams, equipment troubleshooting, etc. for the duration of the operator's participation in the program.
Safety-sensitive companies should consider all avenues of risk mitigation, including the relationship between poor sleep quality, operator fatigue, and preventable accidents.
If investing in an effective sleep apnea management program for your mobile workforce isn't top of mind for your organization, that's understandable. There are other avenues of risk mitigation that may seem more pressing. But have you considered the cost of doing nothing?
Doing nothing can be costly–but doing something may cost less than you think.
Did you know...
- Approximately 28% of your operators may currently suffer from untreated sleep apnea?
- Left untreated, operators diagnosed with sleep apnea are at 5x greater risk to be involved in a DOT-reportable accident?
- Transportation companies are paying at least $301 per month/per operator in avoidable employee healthcare costs with untreated sleep apnea?
- A comprehensive sleep apnea management program will pay for itself in less than a year, thanks to risk mitigation and significant cost reductions in employee healthcare expenses?
- An effective sleep apnea management program can also reduce operating costs associated with recruiting and training, employee absenteeism, and employee disability?
- Recent studies reveal that companies offering robust sleep apnea management programs to their operators enjoy materially-increased employee retention rates?