a therapy program that trains ‘peer buddies’ to educate and support

[Gideon]

http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2019/09/gr...-patients/

“Our biggest barrier to treating sleep apnea is helping individuals use a CPAP machine,” Parthasarathy, director of the UA Health Sciences Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences and medical director of the Center for Sleep Disorders at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, says in a statement. “We are creating a therapy program that trains ‘peer buddies’ to educate and support new CPAP patients on how to use a CPAP machine.”

We have been doing this here for quite some time.  Support for the CPAP User/Apnea sufferer is a service that AB provides, and has provided for years.

[Sleeprider]

It would be interesting to see their training program on "how to use a CPAP machine". While their program is directed at patient peers, it's been our frequent observation that it is the professional medical community that seems to lack this insight, as well as a blindness to basic diagnostics. I suppose if the doctors and therapists fail at this task, we might as well recruit volunteer patient peers? Perhaps referring patients to resources like Apnea Board should be investigated as an alternative. I suspect our coaching improves success rates by a significant margin, and often due to our willingness to try alternative approaches like positional therapy, different masks and different pressures, as well as overcoming basic comfort issues.

[mesenteria]

Agreed.  We also have capacity that increases with each retained and active member who has been at least partially instrumental in their own PAP therapy, but also in its improvement.  As long as a search yields us well up on the first page of results, and as long as we continue to foster a welcoming, educational, and helpful membership, we should continue to do well.

I haven't looked yet, but I'll keep an eye to see what develops there.