Assaults galvanize new press for sleep tech credentialing
California sleep technologists will face a new hurdle for practice if State Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Merced) wins his push for a new sleep credential. The Polysomnographic Technologist Act (Senate Bill 1125) would require licensing of all sleep technicians to prevent criminal abuse and ensure proper medical diagnosis.
The bill comes after sleep technician Lacanalale Amorsolo Jr., 33, who worked for Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System for five years, was arrested in May 2007 on felony and misdemeanor charges of sexual assault for inappropriately touching patients and other lewd acts during sleep tests in late 2006. Amorsolo has pleaded not guilty to all four counts.
Just a month previously, The Washington Post reported that Walter Reed Army Medical Center medical technician inappropriately touched an Army corporal during an April 2004 sleep disorder test. Sleep tech Mario Alberto Echeverri already had been convicted of disorderly conduct for inappropriately touching a U.S. Park Police officer and warned about similar conduct at Walter Reed and another sleep center, the newspaper reported.
At least four states (Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee and Louisiana) already require sleep technologists to be licensed. California's bill would require sleep technicians to have training, licenses, and a clean criminal record.
This law would help protect vulnerable patients undergoing sleep tests, Denham told The Salinas Californian, which broke the story in late January. (See the Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 articles.)
"There's not a law in place to prevent any person in this field from committing a sexual crime, serving their time, and returning to the same field," Denham said. "My bill would ensure these sick individuals aren't allowed to repeat their crimes and hurt more innocent patients."
The move has widespread support from the Respiratory Care Board of California, which would regulate the sleep techs under the current legislation. However, some have debated the respiratory care profession's right to regulate sleep techs since the issue first surfaced. (Check out this spirited exchange from a November post on Mississippi sleep center medical director Dr. Michael Rack's blog Sleep Doctor.)
Should sleep techs be credentialed by respiratory care boards, strike out on their own or remain lone rangers? That still is debatable.
The larger question remains: What needs to be done to ensure patient safety and quality of care?