New ASA webinar series  

A new ASA webinar series is being launched today to help members stay up to date while we can’t meet in person. There will be a webinar roughly every two weeks from the end of May for the rest of this year.

We’re keen to experiment with formats and timings to see what works well for members, so every time you attend a webinar, we’ll ask you to take a minute to provide us with your feedback. 

You’ll need to register via our website for each webinar you’d like to attend, and it’s free for ASA members. Non-members are welcome to attend as well, but we’ll charge them a registration fee. If any of your colleagues are interested in the webinar program, perhaps it’s time to encourage them to become ASA members!

We’ll be recording each webinar, and members will be able to access these for free from our online Education Centre.

A list of all the upcoming webinars will appear in each issue of eNews. You can also check what’s on its way on the ASA’s Events listing.

You can register now for the first webinars in the series.

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Managing sleep during COVID-19: sleep health professionals

The next online forum for members is scheduled for 20 May, and offers an interactive opportunity to explore our own approach to sleep during COVID-19.

In a bid to ‘flatten the curve’ sleep teams are social distancing, many sleep labs are closed, sleep clinics are scrambling to find a new way of delivering quality patient care and the majority of sleep research projects are on hold, for now.

This new world has meant that we have had to adapt and adapt quickly; this often includes juggling tele/video conferences, keeping abreast with new COVID-19 regulations and, for some of us, also home-schooling the next generation. Our stress levels are likely to be high and, despite the irony of working in a sleep field, our own sleep is no doubt suffering. 

The ASA invites you to join Dr Melissa Ree and Dr Moira Junge to an interactive forum to discuss how to manage your own sleep and promote good sleep to others and your patients during these stressful and trying times.

Organised by the WA state meeting convenor and timed specially to suit WA members, this meeting is free for all ASA members. You will need to register if you’d like to attend.

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Updated COVID-19 guidelines for sleep studies

Earlier this week, the ASA released updated guidelines in relation to COVID-19 and sleep studies. There are now two separate documents on these issues.
 
The Updated guidelines on polysomnography during CoVID-19 pandemic: a plan for reopening set out the principles sleep services should consider in relation to restarting Level 1 studies and face-to-face set ups for Level 2 studies.
 
The Consensus statement on the safe use of respiratory therapy and NIV to minimise aerosolisation of CoVID-19 retains the information from the previous Consensus statement in relation to respiratory therapy for patients with CoVID-19.
 
You can review a range of resources for clinicians and patients on the ASA’s COVID-19 resources page. Recent additions to the page include:

• Patient information on Coronavirus (COVID-19) and using CPAP Treatment for Sleep Apnea 
• Guidelines on the use of PPE for patients in hospital with COVID-19 from the Australian Department of Health and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee.

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Narcolepsy medication prescribing

The Medicine Sub-committee of the ASA Clinical Committee is applying for changes to prescribing regulations in relation the prescription of modafinil and armodafinil. 

The application requests a review and alteration of the two clinical criteria requiring dexamphetamine sulfate treatment to pose an unacceptable risk or not be tolerated before these medications can be prescribed. It also requests removal of the requirement to resubmit the sleep study reports before a switch from modafinil to armodafinil (or vice versa) can take place.

ASA has applied for a waiver of the application fee, and if granted, the application will be considered at the July meeting of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

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Australian Women’s Leadership Symposia

The Australian Women's Leadership Symposia (AWL) are a national series of events focused on the experiences of women leaders in the contemporary workforce.
 
An unparalleled gathering of the best and brightest female talent, keynote speakers include Nova Peris, Ita Buttrose, Libby Trickett, Ann Sherry, Catherine Fox, Tammie Matson, Sallyanne Atkinson and many, many more. 

Due to COVID-19, the first three of these events will be delivered as both a one-day online event (over the next few months) and a one-day face-to-face networking session (much later in the year). With the health of event delegates, speakers and sponsors the number one priority, The AWL are adhering to the latest advice from authorities and may convert more of these events into a similar format as the situation unfolds.  

An attendance discount of 25% is currently available to attend by entering code ANSY20 at the time of booking (available until each symposium sells out). The 25% subsidy is in addition to any early-bird discounts that are already in place. A bonus webinar titled 'Leading Through Adversity Together' is also included for new registrants.  

Visit the website for more information and to book

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General Practice Research Review

The latest issue of General Practice Research Review focuses on what is currently known about COVID-19, what we don’t know and offers thoughts on telemedicine. View the latest edition

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News from the Sleep Health Foundation

We’re not even halfway through 2020 and yet this is shaping up to be a year like none other. Over summer, devastating bushfires ripped through most states and more recently, COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work. Many Australians have experienced high levels of stress and anxiety with sleep disturbances often occurring as a result. The Sleep Health Foundation has been busy creating new fact sheets and resources to help people to improve their sleep during these difficult times. We now have section of our website dedicated specifically to COVID-19 with tips on how to sleep while staying indoors, sleep tips for emergency and frontline personnel, sleep and immunity and information for patients using CPAP. Visit the Sleep Health Foundation website for these and more resources relating to sleep and COVID-19. 

The Sleep Health Foundation has also been promoting sleep awareness on social media (please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn). Radio, print and TV outlets have also had a large focus on sleep and the Sleep Health Foundation has fortunately attracted a great deal of coverage. Companies such as Telstra, ASMIRT and Worksafe have also approached the Sleep Health Foundation to run webinars on sleeping well during COVID-19 and these have been successfully run throughout April. To enquire about a webinar please visit our Speaker Program section of our website. 

The Sleep Health Foundation cannot continue to provide these resources, which many ASA members use without support from our members and volunteers. We would like to thank the Sleep Health Foundation members and volunteers for their assistance with in developing these new fact sheets. If you use these fact sheets, for professional or personal use, please consider becoming a Sleep Health Foundation member or volunteer to enable us to continue to advocate for healthy sleep and the importance of good sleep.

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