There is now a new provincial standard requisition form for Home Sleep Apnea Testing (HSAT). The provincial standard requisition form is now required for all practitioner referrals to an accredited HSAT facility. The form is also available on the Pathways website (log in required).
The provincial standard requisition form is a key element of the newly-established provincial accreditation standards for stand-alone HSAT facilities developed through the Diagnostic Accreditation Program of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. Prior to the creation of accreditation standards, HSAT facilities operated without formally recognized clinical standards or governance oversight.
There are now more than 180 stand-alone HSAT facilities provincially that have achieved accreditation or are pending confirmation. When HSAT is the identified appropriate diagnostic test, practitioners are expected to refer only to an accredited facility. A list of accredited HSAT facilities is available on the College’s website.
With the provincial standard HSAT requisition form complete, the focus of the Ministry of Health’s overall effort to improve the service delivery environment for the provision of sleep diagnostics in British Columbia will now shift to finalizing two associated referring practitioner guidelines: Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Assessment and Management in Adults and Sleep Disorders in Adults: Recognition and Referral.
If you have comments or questions concerning the new standardized requisition form for HSAT, please contact to the Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee at hlth.guidelines@gov.bc.ca.