HOUSTON -- A sleep apnea screening and treatment program developed by a Houston medical firm has improved safety and driver productivity while lowering health-care costs at one of the nation's largest trucking companies.

And the developer of the program says it is perfectly suited for bus operations and their drivers.

Precision Pulmonary Diagnostics of Houston spent nearly three years designing and testing its online sleep apnea screening tool and its related detection and treatment program.

It tested the program extensively with Schneider National of Green Bay, Wis., fine-tuning the final product, which fairly astounded executives at the giant trucking company.

"This program has been a huge success for us," said Angela Fish, director of benefits at Schneider. "We reduced our health-care costs an average of 58 percent for our treated drivers."

Fish also said the program has reduced the frequency of accidents attributed to fatigue by 30 percent and improved driver retention at Schneider.

Plenty of cases

Dr. Mark Berger, president of Precision Pulmonary, said his company discovered 778 cases of sleep apnea as it screened more than 11,000 Schneider drivers as part of the three-year pilot program.

"There are immense health costs involved with untreated sleep apnea," said Berger. "Whether a commercial carrier recognizes it or not, they're paying for it (both) in health-care costs (and) in costs related to accidents."

An analysis of Schneider's health-care costs showed the company was saving an average of $578 per driver per month for every case of sleep apnea treated.

Numerous studies, mostly of truck drivers, have shown that sleep apnea is much more common among commercial vehicle drivers than the general population.

Sleep apnea: What is it?

Individuals with sleep apnea periodically pause in their breathing while they sleep because of blocked air passages. This pause triggers what is called an "arousal response" as the body reflexively clears the blocked airways.

Such arousal responses can take place as few as 10 times per hour or as many as 100 times per hour.

During an arousal response, the individual might not wake up, but his or her brain wakes up for a few seconds. The result is less restful sleep that can leave drivers fatigued upon awakening at the end of their sleep period.

The condition is typically treated with a "continuous positive airway pressure device," which provides a sleeping person with a steady flow of air that prevents breathing passages from becoming blocked.

The Precision Pulmonary system is now fully available for commercial vehicle operators. And Dr. Berger told Bus & Motorcoach News it is "very appropriate" for bus and coach drivers.

For more information, go to www.precisionpulmonary.com.