Americans are getting less sleep each year. And while the drop in shut-eye is dangerous for one's health, it can be beneficial for your hospital's bottom line, reports HealthLeadersMedia.
There are more than 2,800 sleep centers in the U.S. that monitor patients and prescribe treatments. But the market of nearly 40 million lousy sleepers is virtually untapped, as roughly 95 percent of those suffering from chronic sleep problems go undiagnosed. "It's a wide-open market," Michael Breus, WebMD's resident sleep expert, has told Business 2.0 Magazine.
Savvy hospitals are developing sleep centers as a way to boost income and provide needed care to this $20 billion industry. Such entities enable hospitals to provide comprehensive care in inpatient and outpatient settings.
Sleep centers improve ROI and patient outcomes as they offer hospitals specialized services like diagnostic testing, treatment and follow-up that might otherwise be unavailable, said Stanton Nelson, chairman and CEO of Graymark Healthcare, which operates 93 sleep centers in 11 states, notes HealthLeaders.
More importantly, patients can receive sleep care in a familiar environment with their existing healthcare provider.
According to Nelson, his sleep center generated $5 million in sales in 2010. He expects it to rake in $7 million annually by 2013.
For more:
- read the HealthLeadersMedia article
- check out this Business 2.0 Magazine story