👋Tell us about you
Tell us about you
A few quick questions help us tailor your journey and surface the next Prepared Patient course you'd benefit from. Saved on this device only. Future versions will sync from your medical record (FHIR Condition import).
🩺 Other conditions you have (alongside OSA)
Check any that apply. We'll recommend matching Prepared Patient courses below.
💛 Someone you care about
Caring for a loved one with another illness or condition? We'll point you at Prepared Family Member content that helps you support them.
Future state: when FHIR Condition import is live, this section will pre-populate from your medical record. You'll always be able to edit.
🎯Your Next Goals
Your Next Goals
Each Prepared Patient course is built like this one — 10 evidence-based competencies, the same Force Field framework, certification at the end. Finish your OSA course; then pick the next one that matches you (or the person you care for).
📍Local to You
Local to You
Your sleep apnea journey lives in a place. Enter your ZIP and we'll pull regional OSA resources — AASM-accredited sleep centers, CPAP DME suppliers, ENT, dental sleep medicine, mental health, food/weight management — curated through the FFH PHIT (Population Health Intelligence Tracker) network. Edit any line; we save it on this device.
PHIT data: sleep center locations from AASM · CPAP DME suppliers from CMS · ENT/dental sleep medicine from AAD · mental health from SAMHSA · food/weight management from CDC · FFH-curated partner programs.
🏅Your Path to Certification
Your Path to Certification
Earn your way up three evidence-based tiers. Each builds on the last. Finish all three and receive your Certified Prepared Patient · Sleep Apnea badge and printable certificate, recognized across the FFH Network.
Aware · Identity: Self-Advocate
You know your AHI and your disease. Layer 1 — Condition Literacy.
- Complete Modules 1–4 (Condition Literacy)
- Pass the "Know My OSA" quizzes (≥4/5 each)
- Identify your AHI, your goal, and your treatment plan
- Build a 14-day CPAP adherence log + lifestyle plan
Active · Identity: Care Team Member
You partner with your team and navigate the system. Layer 2 — Care & System Literacy.
- Complete Modules 5–7 (Home monitoring · Red flags · Comorbidity awareness)
- Demonstrate teach-back on CPAP setup + mask fit + adherence
- Complete one "great visit" prep + debrief with CPAP data
- Build your When-to-Call plan + Care Team card
- Recognize the SCD/HTN/T2D/CKD/CHF intersections — OSA touches all of them
Certified Prepared Patient · Identity: Ambassador
You teach, mentor, fight stigma, and shape research & policy. Layer 3 — Advocacy & Ambassadorship.
- Complete Modules 8–10 (Family/Team · Sharing · Mastery)
- Teach a family member their numbers OR present at a community event
- Sign the Prepared Patient Pledge
- Generate & share your Health Passport + 2-week BP log
- Submit one advocacy action (employer wellness, AHA volunteer, policy comment, or peer mentor)
📋Master Pre / Post Assessment
Where You Stand — Confidence Before & After
Seven dimensions of being a Prepared Patient. Answer once at the start of your journey and again at the end. Your goal is to see real growth across understanding, self-management, communication, and optimal utilization — knowing when to call your team, when to use Day Hospital, and when to go to the ER. Your answers stay on this device unless you choose to share with your clinician.
📈 Your Pre→Post Growth
📞Know Who to Call — Before the ER
Know Who to Call — Before the ER
For most non-life-threatening HTN events, your team can help faster than the ER and prevent unnecessary admissions. Save these numbers in your phone today. The numbers below are placeholders — your institution will fill in the right ones for you. Daytime crashes while driving, witnessed apneas + chest pain, FAST stroke = 911. CPAP failure with O2 drops = same-day call.
🚨 911 — Stroke FAST signs / chest pain + apnea / motor vehicle crash from sleepiness
Stroke FAST (Face droop, Arm weakness, Speech change, Time) = 911. Chest pain + witnessed apnea = 911. If you fell asleep at the wheel or had a near-miss = stop driving and call your team same day. Bring your Health Passport.
⚠️ CPAP failure / severe morning headaches / O2 drops on home pulse-ox — call team same day
If your CPAP isn't working, you have severe morning headaches, or your home pulse-ox shows persistent O2 drops, call [Sleep Medicine On-Call: (555) 222-9000] or [Sleep RN line: (555) 222-9100]. They will direct you to clinic or urgent care. Don't wait.
💬 Routine questions, mask issues, scheduling, CPAP data review
Use [MyChart portal] first — most messages answered within 1 business day. For mask/equipment issues, call [CPAP DME line: (555) 222-9050]. Send CPAP data via portal before any pressure-adjustment visit.
🚑 Call 911 right away for any of these
Sudden weakness on one side · trouble speaking · vision change · chest pain or trouble breathing · fainting · a painful erection lasting > 4 hours (priapism) · severe headache. These can be stroke, acute chest syndrome, or other emergencies — don't drive yourself.
📚The 10 Prepared Patient Competencies
A Prepared Patient builds three kinds of health literacy — and grows into three identities. Each competency works through the FFH three pillars: Learn It · Live It · Share It.
Advocate for Self
You speak up for your own care, plan, pain, and goals.
Care Team Member
You partner with your team — not above, not below.
Ambassador
You teach, mentor, and shape research, policy & access.
📖 Condition Literacy Learn It · Tier 1 Aware
"I know my numbers and what they mean." The foundation. Without this, nothing else holds.
What OSA Is & Why It Matters
Repeated airway collapse during sleep. AHI, oxygen drops, daytime crashes, cardiometabolic damage, SCD crisis trigger. Why CPAP saves lives.
Knowing My Numbers
AHI, O2 nadir, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, CPAP-AHI on therapy, mask leak %, hours/night. Bring CPAP data to every visit.
Lifestyle Force Field
Weight loss (10% loss = ~25% AHI reduction), positional therapy, alcohol/sedative timing, sleep hygiene, allergy/nasal management, daily exercise.
Treatment Options
CPAP gold standard. Oral appliance for mild-moderate. Positional therapy. Inspire (nerve stim). Weight management. GLP-1 emerging. Coaching matters more than pressure.
🛠 Action & System Literacy Live It · Tier 2 Active
"I monitor at home, I know when to call, I see comorbidities." Where most preventable ER visits and readmissions happen — and where this course pays off the most. Optimal utilization lives here.
CPAP Self-Management
Mask fit, leak control, ramp + humidifier, weekly cleaning, app data review. Adherence target: >4hr/night, >70% nights.
When to Call vs Go to ED
Daytime crashes (911 / stop driving), CPAP failure + O2 drops (same-day call), severe morning headaches, FAST stroke (911), MV-near-miss from sleepiness.
When SCD & HTN Meet — Stroke-Risk Story
The cross-condition module. SCD damages small vessels; HTN damages all vessels. Together — especially in African American patients — they produce the highest preventable-stroke burden in U.S. populations.
📣 Family, Sharing & Mastery Share It · Tier 3 Certified
"I bring my family with me. I teach others. I close the loop with my care team." This is what turns a Prepared Patient into a force multiplier for the whole community.
Family, Bed Partner & Care Team
Sleep medicine, primary care, CPAP DME tech, ENT (anatomy), sleep dentist (oral appliance), RD, behavioral health, peer mentor. Bed partner = home Ambassador.
Sharing — Bed Partner, Family Observers, HS Ambassadors
Bed partners witness apneas. HS-student Ambassadors can spot snoring + fatigue + observed apnea in older family and prompt screening. Your story changes outcomes.
Mastery & Graduation
Recap, badge, ROI study opt-in. Reflect on Pre→Post. Set your 12-month plan: a healthy home BP target, your team check-ins, your advocacy commitment.
🫀Form & Function — Sleep Apnea in 3D
Form & Function — Sleep Apnea in 3D
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a breathing disease — your airway repeatedly collapses during sleep. Most people don't realize it's happening until a bed partner notices the gasping, or daytime fatigue becomes obvious. Understanding the geography of your own airway and the organs affected by each apnea event makes every other module make sense.
🫁 Upper airway
Repeated collapse during sleep produces apneas (full stoppage) and hypopneas (partial). Severity measured as AHI = events/hour. CPAP/PAP physically splints the airway open.
🧠 Brain
Cortical arousals fragment sleep architecture. Less REM, less deep sleep → daytime sleepiness, mood changes, accident risk. Long-term: cognitive decline.
❤️ Heart
Apneas cause repeated sympathetic surges + intrathoracic pressure swings. Drives atrial fibrillation, hypertension, MI, heart failure. CPAP reverses much of this.
🫀 Vessels
Intermittent hypoxia injures endothelium. Inflammation + reduced NO bioavailability → accelerated atherosclerosis.
😴 Sleep architecture
REM rebound, oxygen desaturation index (ODI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale, total sleep time, sleep efficiency — the metrics your team uses to dial therapy.
⚖️ Metabolism
OSA drives insulin resistance, weight gain (sleep loss → ghrelin up, leptin down). Untreated OSA is a top cause of poorly-controlled T2D.
💡 How we manage it (the through-line)
Five levers in this order: (1) PAP therapy (CPAP/APAP/BiPAP) — first-line, gold standard. (2) Mask fit & adherence support — most common reason therapy fails. (3) Weight management & positional therapy — reduces severity. (4) Comorbidity control — BP, A1c, A-fib must run alongside. (5) Annual sleep follow-up — adherence data, mask change, pressure adjustment. Together these control the apnea burden and protect every organ above.
🧰Training Lab — Devices & Techniques
Training Lab — Devices & Techniques
Hands-on practice with the devices and techniques every Prepared Patient · OSA eventually masters: CPAP setup & mask fit, AutoSet vs CPAP modes, mask leak troubleshooting, humidifier & pressure ramp, daily mask cleaning routine, and the adherence tracker. 5-step rhythm.
This section is in active development — the FFH Training Lab is being purpose-built to host OSA device training (and every other condition's). When it lands, this slot will surface the full hands-on lab inline. For now, talk to your team about the device skills you'll need to master and we'll have them queued up here shortly.
👥My Care Team
My Care Team
Your team is bigger than just the doctor. Click any card to edit, or click the + tile to add a new team member. Saved on this device. The Force Field Emergency Card below auto-syncs from this list.
📖Glossary — words you'll hear
Plain-English definitions for terms doctors and labs use. Tap to expand.
Stage 1 / Stage 2 hypertension
Hypertensive crisis (urgency vs emergency)
ACE inhibitor / ARB
Calcium-channel blocker (CCB)
Thiazide diuretic
White-coat HTN / Masked HTN
DASH eating plan
Validated upper-arm cuff
Resistant hypertension
SCD × HTN comorbidity (Banner equity story)
🧪Sleep Numbers Tutor — what your sleep data means
Vitals & Labs Tutor — what your numbers mean
Don't just see a number — know what it means and what to ask. Your "normal" may be different from a friend's. Ask your hematologist to write your personal baseline in the column on the right.
| Test | What it measures | Typical adult range | What to ask if it's off | My baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) | Events per hour — the severity measurement for OSA. | Normal < 5; mild 5–15; moderate 15–30; severe > 30 | What's my AHI on my sleep study? Am I treating to goal? | [fill in] |
| O2 nadir during study | Your lowest oxygen level during sleep apnea events. | Goal > 88%; < 80% often signals need for therapy increase | Is my O2 nadir improving on my current CPAP pressure? | [fill in] |
| Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) | 0–24 score for daytime sleepiness. You fill it out. | < 10 normal; 10–15 mild; 16–20 moderate; > 20 severe | Should this score improve once I'm on therapy? | [fill in] |
| Oxygen Desaturation Index (ODI) | Number of times O2 drops ≥3% per hour. | Normal < 5; elevated if > 10 | Is my ODI dropping with CPAP? | [fill in] |
| Time below 88% SpO2 (T90) | Minutes you spent with O2 < 88% during sleep. | Goal: as close to 0 as possible | Is this zero or near-zero on my current CPAP? | [fill in] |
| CPAP-AHI (residual AHI on therapy) | Your AHI while using CPAP — should be < 5. | Goal < 5; acceptable < 15 if symptoms improve | Is my residual AHI at goal on my current pressure? | [fill in] |
| Mask leak % | How much air escapes your mask (CPAP-reported). | Goal < 25 L/min; > 40 means mask fit issue | Am I having mask fit or leak problems? | [fill in] |
| Adherence (hours/nights ≥4hr) | CPAP use hours per night; nights ≥4 hrs therapeutic. | Goal ≥4 hours, ≥70% nights | Am I using CPAP > 4 hours most nights? | [fill in] |
| BP (blood pressure) | OSA drives HTN; HTN + OSA = double vascular risk. | Goal < 130/80 (lower if CKD, diabetes, prior CVD) | Is my BP at goal alongside OSA therapy? | [fill in] |
| A1c (HbA1c) | 3-month blood sugar — OSA + T2D together are common. | < 5.7% normal · 5.7–6.4% prediabetes · ≥ 6.5% diabetes | Does OSA treatment help my blood sugar control? | [fill in] |
| TSH (thyroid function) | Hypothyroidism mimics OSA fatigue — rule it out. | ~0.4–4.0 mIU/L (lab-dependent) | Could thyroid be contributing to my sleepiness? | [fill in] |
| Ferritin | Iron stores — high after many transfusions. | < 1000 ng/mL ideal | Do I need an iron-removal medicine? | [fill in] |
| Creatinine / GFR | Kidney function. | GFR > 90 normal | Should I avoid NSAIDs? | [fill in] |
| Urine albumin | Early kidney damage signal. | < 30 mg/g normal | Should I start an ACE/ARB? | [fill in] |
| O₂ saturation | How well your lungs deliver oxygen. | ≥ 95% in clinic | Is mine running low? Sleep study? | [fill in] |
➕Add-On Modules & Earnable Badges
Add-On Modules & Earnable Badges
Stackable modules that match your situation. Complete one to earn an extra badge on your certificate. Your institution can add their own.
👶 Pregnancy with SCD
Pre-conception counseling, transfusion strategy, anesthesia plan, postpartum risks.
🌱 Transition to Adult Care
Ages 14–25. Build your portable summary and meet your adult team.
🧪 In a Clinical Trial?
Add: protocol literacy, side-effect tracking, when to call the study coordinator vs your usual team.
💉 Considering Gene Therapy / HCT
Eligibility, fertility preservation, what the conditioning weeks look like, follow-up.
✈️ Travel & SCD
Altitude, dehydration, cold, time-zone meds, packing your Passport, finding a hospital abroad.
🎓 At School / At Work
Sample 504 plans, ADA accommodations, cooling breaks, how to talk to teachers/HR.
👨👩👧 For Caregivers & Siblings
How to feel for the spleen, what to put in the go-bag, taking care of yourself.
+ Add Your Institution's Module
Drop in your own — chemo ed, infusion-pump training, port-access teach-back, anything.
🛡️ Force Field Emergency Card FRIDGE · WALLET · EMT-READY
A one-page emergency record for any EMT, ER, new doctor, or transition visit. Print one for the fridge, one for your wallet. Updates anytime. This is the document you hand to a stranger when you can't speak for yourself.
🤝 My Care Team — call list for any clinician picking up my care
📘My Health Passport — visit log · questions · trackers
📘 My Health Passport PATIENT-OWNED JOURNAL
This is your record — not your hospital's. Log every visit, capture every question for next time, and watch your own trends. Many of you get care at more than one hospital, on more than one record system. This Passport travels with you. Future versions will let you import data directly from your patient portals (the "Blue Button" vision).
🩺Working With a Prepared Patient
Your patient is going through a structured, evidence-based course. Here's how to get the most out of every visit, reduce ER use, and partner well. Built on the AHRQ SHARE Approach, the IOM teach-back method, and the 2014 NHLBI & 2020 ASH SCD guidelines.
The SHARE Approach — your 5-step playbook
Use these steps in any order. Cycle back. Use teach-back at every transition. Source: AHRQ Pub. No. 25-0005 (Oct 2024).
💬Teach-Back & Risk Communication
The two highest-yield, lowest-cost SDM techniques. Use both at every visit.
🔁 Teach-Back (1–2 min)
- "Just so I know I explained it well — what would you tell your sister about why we're starting hydroxyurea?"
- Open-ended ("what" / "how"), not yes/no.
- If they get it wrong: "I must not have explained it well — let me try a different way." Then teach-back again.
- Use it for: pain plan, hydroxyurea ramp-up, when to call you vs ER, fever rule, port-flush technique.
- Document teach-back in your note — it's a quality measure and a billable element of care.
🔢 Communicating Numbers
- Use absolute risk, not relative. "13 out of 100" beats "13%" beats "1 in 8" beats "low risk."
- Keep denominators & timeframes constant when comparing options.
- Show, don't tell: icon arrays, Wong-Baker FACES, written summary.
- For lab numbers: give the action threshold, not just the value. "Your ferritin is 1,200 — over 1,000 we usually start iron removal."
⚠️SCD-Specific Clinical Guardrails
Do these every visit. Skipping them is the most common reason a Prepared Patient ends up in the ER.
🟢 Every Visit Checklist
- Confirm hydroxyurea dose & HbF goal; ramp to MTD if labs allow.
- Pain plan: home opioid script, when to escalate, no NSAIDs if GFR < 60.
- Pneumococcal, meningococcal (ACWY + B), influenza, COVID, Hib up to date.
- Eye exam yearly (proliferative retinopathy — esp. HbSC).
- BP and urine albumin every visit; ACE/ARB if > 30 mg/g.
- Mental health screen (PHQ-2/9 + GAD-7); pain ≠ depression but they coexist.
🚨 Red-Flag Triage Patients Should Know
- Fever ≥ 101°F → assess within 1 hour (CBC, blood culture, broad-spectrum if criteria met).
- Pain + cough/fever/low O₂ → CXR, sat, transfuse threshold, incentive spirometry.
- Sudden focal weakness, speech, vision → stroke pathway; transfuse to HbS < 30%.
- Priapism > 4 hours → urgent urology + IV fluids + analgesia.
- Pediatric: spleen palpable / pale / lethargic → splenic sequestration.
🌍Cultural Competence & Trust
SCD disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities. Many patients have been under-treated or accused of drug-seeking. Repair starts in your office.
- Start with belief. Pain is what the patient says it is. SCD pain is real, severe, and often poorly treated.
- Ask about their model. "What do you think causes a crisis for you? What do you think helps?" Use that language.
- Use qualified medical interpreters — never family, never minor children except in true emergencies.
- Invite the family in. Decisions about transition, transplant, gene therapy, fertility, pregnancy are family decisions in many cultures.
- Name the bias. "I know SCD patients have often been doubted in ERs. We track that here, and you can tell me if it ever happens."
🏥Customize for Your Institution
Clone this course and replace the highlighted blocks with your own information. Each editable field below is a placeholder — change it once and it propagates through the patient view.
📞 What Should Replace the When-to-Call Block
- 24/7 hematology on-call number
- Day Hospital / SCD infusion clinic hours & address
- Specialty pharmacy line
- Behavioral health / crisis line
- Patient portal login URL
👤 Who Is Your "Susan"?
- Name, role, photo, calendly/booking link.
- What teach-back / device check-ins they own (port flushing, infusion pump, hydroxyurea ramp).
- How patients reach them between visits.
📚 Add Your Own Modules
- Your clinical trial protocols (chemo ed, gene therapy run-up).
- Local 504 plan template, school-letter template.
- Insurance & financial-aid pathways.
- Local peer support partners (e.g., 360 SCD Hub, SCD Foundation Arizona).
🎨 Re-skin in 2 Lines of CSS
--inst-primary: your brand color- Replace the FFH × 360 SCD Hub × [Your Institution] cobrand pill in the hero
- Drop in your logo PNG (white version) — same 48px height as FFH logo
📚 Evidence Base — what this course is built on
- AHRQ SHARE Approach — 5-step shared decision making framework. AHRQ Pub. 25-0005, Oct 2024. ahrq.gov/sdm
- AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit (3rd ed.) — teach-back, plain language, accessible materials. AHRQ Pub. 23-0075, March 2024.
- NHLBI Evidence-Based Management of SCD: Expert Panel Report (2014) — preventive screening, hydroxyurea, transfusion, infection prevention.
- ASH 2020 Guidelines for SCD — pain (acute & chronic), cerebrovascular disease, transfusion support, stem-cell transplant.
- AHRQ PEMAT — Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool. Used to grade understandability & actionability.
- Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) — peer-led, self-efficacy backbone of the Tier 3 advocacy work.
- AHRQ Patient Activation Measure (PAM) — the "Aware → Active → Certified" ladder maps to PAM levels 1–4.
- 360 SCD Hub (360scdhub.org) — community partner content, peer mentors, regional resource connections.
- FFH Prepared Patient · Asthma course — sister course in the FFH Academy; this build mirrors its structure for series consistency.
Course content is educational and not a substitute for medical advice from your own clinicians. Institutions cloning this course are responsible for accuracy of all customized blocks.