January 7, 2014 - Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, Associate Professor of Medicine, has received an Improving Healthcare Outcomes Award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute valued at $2.1 million. The study is titled, “Peer-driven intervention as an alternate model of care delivery and coordination for sleep apnea.”
The study will focus on improving patient centered outcomes, health-related quality of life, and treatment adherence by embracing community-based volunteers and cell-phone technology with a telephone exchange that improves access to healthcare providers, technicians, and home care companies. Dr. Parthsarathy is a physician who specializes in sleep-related breathing disorders like sleep apnea and nocturnal hypoxia as well as narcolepsy, idiopathic CNS hypersomnia, sleep walking and many others.
Within the Department of Psychiatry, Patricia Haynes, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, is a co-investigator on this award who will contribute to behavioral trial methodology and design, assist with psychological and behavioral aspects of the study, support training of peer-buddies and perform competency and fidelity assessments.
Dr. Haynes is a certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist with significant research experience conducting behavioral intervention trials, funded by multiple organizations including the Department of Defense. She has also conducted a well-cited review of CPAP adherence from a behavioral sleep medicine perspective. Dr. Haynes runs CPAP adherence groups in clinical practice because a large number of individuals experience problems utilizing CPAP therapy.
“This project was selected for PCORI funding not only for its scientific merit and commitment to engaging patients and other stakeholders, but also for its potential to fill an important gap in our health knowledge and give people information to help them weigh the effectiveness of their care options,” said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. “We look forward to following the study’s progress and working with University of Arizona to share the results.”
Care coordination as outlined in this grant will be of immense value to patients with obstructive sleep apnea and also of value to other patients in the future.
Congratulations to Dr. Parthasarathy for this award!
To find out more about Dr. Patricia Haynes and her research, click here.