Proposal for a Sleep Lab

¶ … business plan for a unique business opportunity- a sleep lab. This paper investigates the unique business needs of this business as well as the challenges of engaging the surrounding community, its employees as well as clients on the health benefits of sleep as well as the necessity for the identification as well as treatment of various sleep disorders. The safety needs of the participant are also taken into consideration and well as the setup and running costs.

A sleep disorder is noted by Al Ghamdi (2009) to be a medical disorder of a person's sleep patterns and is a serious condition that affects an individual's normal mental, physical as well as emotional functions. Most sleep disorders can effectively be diagnosed and treated in a sleep lab or center via a common test referred to as polysomnogram (Patil,2010).

Sleeps disorders as a source of public health concern

Sleep is also being recognized continually as an important public health concern. This is due to the fact that sleep insufficiency is linked to cases of industrial disasters, motor vehicle crashes and medical as well as occupational errors (Institute of Medicine,2006). The unintentional nodding off or falling asleep while driving as well as having extreme difficulty in performing daily tasks due to sleepiness may all contribute to various hazardous outcomes. Individuals experiencing sleep insufficiency are noted to be more likely to suffer from various forms of chronic ailments like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, depression and cancer. Increased mortality is also reported coupled with reduced productivity and quality of life. Sleep insufficiency can be as a result of a wide array of factors ranging from round-the-clock access to various forms of technology to work. Sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia are however major players in sleep insufficiency. Institute of Medicine (2006) indicated that close to 50 to 70 million American adults have sleep disorders with snoring being a major indicator of incidents of sleep apnea.

Necessity of Sleep: A review

Sleep is so important that some people claim that its importance surpasses the importance of food to our bodies (Schwartz,2011).The work of Series and Marc (2001) investigated the importance of sleep in the treatment of sleep apnea.CDC (2011) investigated the unhealthy behaviors that are related to lack of sufficient sleep. Their work also indicated the occupational and daily life benefits of sufficient sleep.

The work of Sparks (2009) addressed the necessity of sleep but clearly indicated that sleep research has not been successful in identifying the specific purpose of sleep. He however noted that the importance of good sleep is founded on the fact that it does something very important to the continuation of life (Sparks,2009,p.3). Sleep is also noted to have a rejuvenating effect/influence on our mind and body. Sleep is important to all animals. If one is sleep deprived, they may become very irritable and in most cases psychotic. This information is what should act a motivator for investing in a sleep lap/clinic business.

Sleep Industry

A Sleep Disorder Clinics Market Research Report by Ibis World (2012) indicated that there is no single dominant player in the sleep industry. This fact coupled with the industry's growth (13.3% per annum) means that sleep labs are suitable investment opportunities.

Strategies for a sleep lab.

Mission Statement

The mission statement of all sleep labs should be focus on quality of medical care in regard to diagnostics as well as therapeutic procedures with the main aim of achieving patient satisfaction as noted by Jonson (2008).The mission of the sleep lab should therefore be:

1. To provide high quality healthcare as well as support to all patients suffering from sleep disorders

2. To provide an up-to-date and well a structured training programs for our doctors and technicians

3. To carry out a high-quality research in regard to sleep disorders

4. To increase the levels of awareness of the public on sleep disorders.

Keys to Success

For the sleep lap to be successful the manager of the lap must take into consideration several essential elements of customer service as well as factors that can help in improving the functionality of the sleep center (McCobbel,2006).The first step should however involve the formulation of a mission statement. This should then be followed by the formulation of organizational vision and strategy.

Business structures for the sleep lab

The sleep lap should follow one of the there business structures indicated below.

Hospital-owned

An independent diagnostic and testing facility (IDTF)

Extension of a given physician's practice'

Service objectives

To build a distinguished sleep lab that can provide all forms of services that are related to the discipline of sleep medicine.

Service aims

To work 24 hours a day,7 days a wek and 365 days a year

To conduct at least two studies a year

What is need before starting

Space

Supplies (Diagnostic sleep systems, Pulse Oximeter, Capnograph, CPAP, BiPAP, and masks, EEG, EMG, as well as EOG equipment for the recording brain waves as well as muscle Activity, Airflow thermistor, Airflow pressure transducer, Respiratory effort belts for measuring chest as well as abdomen motion as well as Snoring microphones

Cost

The cost is variable due to the varying level of service capacity

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis/framework is a very powerful tool for understanding the strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats affecting a given organization. For the proposed sleep lab, the following are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Strengths

The key strengths that may affect the business are high performance objectives, loyal customers, high quality services, good leadership, strong financial position, solid reputation, high skilled workforce as well as strategic insight.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses include internal an d yet controllable factors like poor leadership, outdated technologies, insufficient resources, low product quality as well as lack of foresight.

Opportunities

The opportunities include growing marketplace, better economic conditions and a market that is increasingly becoming aware of the benefits of a sleep lab.

Threats

The threats include negative publicity, existence of substitute products, shifts in consumer behavior and strict government regulations.