The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has officially launched AASM SleepTM, a new telemedicine platform that it says will dramatically increase patient access to the expertise of board-certified sleep medicine physicians and accredited sleep centers, according to an association press release.

A core component of the system is a secure, web-based video platform that facilitates live, interactive consultations and follow-up visits between patients and sleep medicine providers. It also features an interactive sleep diary, sleep log and sleep questionnaires, and the system syncs with Fitbit sleep data.

SleepTM was previously known as “Tell A Sleep Doc.” The AASM believes the platform will eliminate the barriers of regional boundaries and travel times and ensure that all patients have access to high quality sleep health care, regardless of where they live.

AASM encourages sleep medicine professionals to register for one of the upcoming online demonstrations of the SleepTM platform on Jan 22, 27, or 29. The AASM also is offering a live, half-day seminar, “Expanding Your Sleep Practice through Telemedicine and Integrated Care,” on Feb 5 and several other dates throughout the spring.

“Ensuring patient access to quality sleep health care requires widespread adoption of telemedicine by sleep medicine practices across the US,” said AASM President Dr. Nathaniel Watson. “I encourage all sleep specialists to sign their sleep practice up for AASM SleepTM today. The time for sleep clinicians to embrace telemedicine is now.”