In This Issue...

Australia Day honours - congratulations to Emeritus Professor Doug McEvoy

Sleep DownUnder returns better than ever

Changes to MBS items

What the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce did in 2020

What were members watching in 2020?

Journal SLEEP Editor in Chief Position

Evolve Webinar Series - Cognitive Biases in Clinical Decision Making

Sleep Health Foundation are looking for an ambassador

Australia Day honours - congratulations to Emeritus Professor Doug McEvoy

Emeritus Professor Doug McEvoy has been awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2021 Australia Day honours for significant service to medical research, particularly to respiratory and sleep health.

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Sleep DownUnder returns better than ever

The opportunity to travel within Australia is looking promising for 2021, so we're pleased to announce that Sleep DownUnder is returning in triumph next year. And it will be better than ever!

You'll have more opportunities than ever before to participate. Choose from attending in person at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre or participate virtually. All sessions will be streamed online, with a virtual exhibition hall, and online meeting and discussion opportunities. 

With all sessions being streamed to the virtual conference platform, the scientific program will look a little different to previous conferences. But you can still count on appreciating high quality presentations, plenty of international speakers attending virtually, and the usual process of abstract submissions to showcase the latest research. 

Submissions for abstracts, short courses, symposia and plenaries opening soon!

Save the dates now - 10-13 October 2021

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Changes to MBS items

From 1 March 2021, there will be a number of minor changes to some MBS items for respiratory and sleep studies. These changes are summarised below: 

• MBS Explanatory Note DN.1.17 (items 12203 and 12250) – this note will be amended to reduce the recommended scoring criteria for the ‘STOP-BANG’ screening tool from 4 to 3. 
• Items 30696, 30710, 41889, 41892, 41895, 41898, 41901, 41905 – these eight interventional procedural items will be relocated from subgroups 1 and 8 of group T8 to subgroup 6 of group T8 on the MBS. The items will be deleted and replaced by new item numbers 38416, 38417, 38419, 38420, 38422, 38423, 38425 and 38426. 

Access the factsheets on these MBS changes, the updated item descriptors and explanatory notes. This information will be published on the ‘Factsheets’ tab on the MBS online website. 

For any enquiries about these MBS changes, please contact the Department of Health. 

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What were members watching in 2020?

In 2020 the education centre had a makeover to become your gateway to online education and resources that help build your career as a sleep professional. 

   What were the top three most watched webinar recordings in 2020?

1 - Bruxism, TMD and occlusal changes in dental sleep medicine

2 - Managing shift work

3 - Sleep in women: normal sleep and circadian rhythms

Many of you took the time to have a look, register and engage with many of the webinars available. Congratulations to our top three engaged members Leon Huang, Alex Mortlock and Marcus McMahon who will each receive a $25 discount voucher that can be used towards purchasing access to short courses in the education centre. Don't forget:

• you can watch sleep week recordings online

•  you can use the search box to enter a key word to find webinars and session recordings

  What will you watch in 2021?    

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Journal SLEEP Editor in Chief Position

Now accepting applications.

The Sleep Research Society (SRS) has appointed a search committee to recommend candidates to serve as editor-in-chief for the journal SLEEP. The editor will be appointed for a 5-year term beginning January 1, 2022 after a six month shadowing period beginning July 1, 2021.

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Evolve Webinar Series - Cognitive Biases in Clinical Decision Making

This year, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians will host an Evolve webinar series that will explore interesting topics relevant to low-value practice.

The inaugural webinar will feature Professor Ian Scott who will be presenting on ‘Cognitive biases in clinical decision making’. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, 16 February 2021, 6pm-7pm (AEDT)/8pm-9pm (NZDT). 

Professor Scott will present on the cognitive biases that physicians experience in their clinical decision making and how this can play a role in the continued delivery of low-value care.  
Learn more about the webinar

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Sleep Health Foundation is looking for an ambassador

We need your help – can you suggest someone to be a high profile SHF ambassador?

The Sleep Health Foundation is seeking a suitable person, well known to many Australians, to be our champion/ambassador. Please think across your networks and people in the media for possibilities (see below for details of role, criteria etc).  

If you have a suggestion please email Helen Burdette with their name and a brief sentence or two with your reason for suggesting them. Their name will then be placed on our search list and we will further research their background.  We are aiming to develop a ranked list of suitable people to approach.  (If you have a patient with a sleep disorder and a relevant high profile who may be suitable obviously obtain their permission first.)

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