Primary Care Sleep Medicine: A Practical Guide

Primary Care in Sleep Medicine: A Practical Guide, edited by James F. Pagel and S. R. Pandi-Perumal, is an important book coming at an important time for the increasing number of patients with sleep disorders who are seen in primary care practices. The importance of primary care physicians having more in-depth education and training in sleep medicine has been emphasized in the Institute of Medicine report, “Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation―An Unmet Public Health Problem,” issued in April 2006. This landmark report estimates that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a sleep disorder that interferes with their daily function and has long-term adverse effects on their health and quality of life. Lack of sleep can lead to increased rates of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke. In addition, one-fifth of all serious car accidents are associated with driver sleepiness. The Institute of Medicine report, after carefully examining and reporting on the evidence, concluded that increased awareness and training in the field of sleep disorders for primary care physicians is urgently needed to help address the increasing unmet needs of large numbers of patients with sleep disorders. Primary Care in Sleep Medicine: A Practical Guide is an excellent book that should help to meet this important need.

Diagnosing and treating sleep disorders have been added to the primary care physician's list of ever-growing responsibilities. This added expectation presents many risks since sleep medicine is rarely included in the curricula of medical schools or in non-sleep medicine residency training.  

The second edition to Primary Care Sleep Medicine fulfills the need of a comprehensive text assisting the physician with up-to-date information on the sleep medicine field. This updated volume represents the cutting edge of knowledge for the field, with summaries of the latest research on new diagnostic tests, medications and therapies; useful for any physician considering specialization in the field. Chapters are authored by leaders in the field of sleep medicine with an understanding of the primary care environment.   

Practical and comprehensive, this text is an invaluable resource for physicians and allied health professionals.