DMERCS do away with Respiratory Disturbance Index
By HME News Staff
Updated Sun April 27, 2003
April 28, 2003
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The DMERCs are no longer accepting the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) as a calculation for prescribing sleep therapy, according to a policy change now making the rounds in the DMERCs' spring Supplier Bulletins.
Suppliers must now use the Apnea/Hypopnea Index(AHI) when filing claims for therapy. Although sleep labs record the AHI during sleep studies, they don't always provide the index to suppliers as part of a new patient's RDI.
The AHI refers to the average number of apneas and hypopneas per hour and must be based on a minimum of two hours of sleep off a positive pressure device.
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