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Hungarian Society for Sleep Medicine
Address of the society: H- 1126 Hertelendy u. 13. Budapest
President: László Kunos MD, PhD
Pumonological Hospital
Törökbálint, Hungary
e-mail: laszlokunos@gmail.com
The Hungarian Sleep
Research Society has been established by neurologists, pulmonologists,
psychiatrists, family doctors, internal specialists, pediatricians and
psychologists with the main aim of organizing sleep medicine in
Hungary,
establishing competent Sleep Medicine Centres (SMC), providing the
technical,
organizational and personnel requirements for the operation of these
centres,
preparing advanced professional recommendations considered to be the
basis of
quality assurance in the fields of diagnostic and therapeutic
procedures and
having such recommendations recognized. In the frame of this activity,
successful co-operation has been developed with both the European Sleep
Research Society and the Hungarian organizations representing the
related
disciplines.
Today,
recommendations complying with European guidelines are available in the
field
of the treatment of sleep-related respiratory disorders, sleep-related
motility
disorders, daytime hypersomnia and insomnia. The recommendations have
been
acknowledged, in agreement with the competent professional boards, also
by the
Ministry of Health since 2008. These recommendations, which can be
checked and
serve as a basis for quality assurance, enabled that the special
diagnostic and
therapeutic processes of sleep disorders are now available with social
security
support. There is continuous communication in this subject between the
society’s management and the National Insurer.
Following the
guidelines of the European Sleep Research Society, the accreditation
procedure
of Hungarian sleep research laboratories was started in 2005. The
Accreditation
Committee established by the management audits the laboratories every 2
years
and judges new applications by rating them in three categories: fully
complies
with SMC requirements, complies with SMC requirements with corrections,
failed to
comply. In accordance with the specified criterions, SMC qualification
was
granted for 8 applicants, while 2 applications have been denied.
The base of our
professional activity is constituted by 7 accredited Sleep Medicine
Centres in
the capital of Budapest and in the regional centres, whose work is
based on
mutual and ever-improving co-operation with the participants of primary
and
specialised care.
The present situation is
demonstrated by the following table:
1. Honvédkórház, Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (Military Hospital, Sleep Medicine Center), 1134 Budapest, Róbert Károly krt. 44.
Head: Dr. habil. Szakács Zoltán PhD
2. Neurológiai Klinika DE KK , Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (University of Debrecen, Dept. of Neurology, Sleep Medicine Center), 4024 Debrecen, Móricz Zsigmond krt. 22.
Head: Dr. Kozák Norbert PhD
3. Neurológiai Klinika PTE KK, Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (University of Pécs, Dept. of Neurology, Sleep Medicine Center), 7623 Pécs, Rét u. 2.
Head: Dr. habil. Faludi Béla PhD
4. Heim Pál Gyermekkórház Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (Heim Pál Children Hospital, Sleep Medicine Center), 1089 Budapest, Delej u. 13-15.
Head: Dr. habil. Benedek Pálma PhD
5. I. sz. Gyermekklinika, Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (Semmelweis University, 1st Depearment of Pediatrics, Sleep Medicine Center), 1083 Budapest, Bókay János u. 53-54.
Head: Prof. Dr. Szabó Attila
6. Országos Korányi Tbc és Pulmonológiai Intézet, Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (National Inst. of Pulmonology, Sleep Lab.), 1529 Budapest, Pihenő utca 1
Head: Prof. Dr. Böszörményi Nagy György
7. Pest megyei Tüdőgyógyintézet, Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (Inst. of Pulmonology, Sleep Lab.), 2045 Törökbálint, Munkácsy Mihály utca 70
Head: Dr. Kunos László PhD
8. Semmelweis Egyetem, Plmonológiai Klinika,Alvásdiagnosztikai és Terápiás Laboratórium (Semmelweis University, Dept. of Pulmonology, Sleep Lab.), 1021 Budapest, Diósárok út 1/c
Head: Dr. habil. Horváth Gábor PhD
9. Somno Center Szeged, 725 Szeged, Kálvária Sgt. 57
Head: Annus János Kristóf
10. Somnocenter Budapest, 1012 Budapest, Márvány u. 17.
11. Somnocenter Pécs, 7626 Pécs, Vadász u. 6., fsz.3.
Head: Dr. habil. Faludi Béla PhD
In order to update
professional guidelines and further increase the health service
capacity of
Sleep Medicine Centres, the training of medical specialists and
healthcare
personnel has become inevitable.
The training of somnologists and the further training of sleep research technicians were therefore initiated in compliance with the guidelines issued by the European Sleep Research Society in 2009. A Committee on Further Training was established which organizes examinations for specialised doctors and informs them about the opportunity. The sets of requirements relating to theoretical and practical tests and meeting domestic needs have been elaborated along with the questions in theoretical and practical examinations as well as the scope of knowledge to be mastered.
The
expert of sleep medicine (somnologist) licence was introduced in 2013.
The examination is organized by the National Examination Committee.
Until now 39 physicians from differemnt fields of medicine fullfilled
the criteria of the examination.
The manuscript
‘Sleep Medicine’ summarizing the minimum theoretical and practical
requirements
of somnology was published in 2008, which – besides being demanded by
medical
experts – has become the textbook of somnology exams and is recommended
for reading
at the Faculty of General Medicine in Semmelweis University of
Budapest. In the
‘Neurology’ textbook under publication, sleep and sleep disorders are
discussed
in a separate chapter.
In addition to the
above, our domestic activity includes the organizing of annual
conferences,
forums of further training, the publication of reports and books in
connection
with the theoretical and practical knowledge of sleep medicine and the
results
of experiments performed in Hungarian institutes.
Further training,
the exchange of experiences and the co-operation between the
participants of
the network (somnologists, medical specialists, family doctors, sleep
research
technicians and specialized medical technicians) are all founded on the
annual
professional conferences. The highlighted subjects of these conferences
are
chosen to match the current fields of importance.
The first national conference
was organized in 1997.
Others:
II. congress
Budapest
2003
III. congress
Budapest
2004
conference
Szeged
2006
IV. congress
Mosdós
2007
V. congress
Hajdúszoboszló
2008
VI. congress
Dobogókő
2009
VII. congress Pécs 2010
VIII. congress Budapest 2011
IX. congress Budapest 2013
X. congress Budapest 2015
XI. congress Lajosmizse 2017
XII. congress Siófok 2019
XIII.
congress
Siófok
2022
Well-attended accredited
peripheral further trainings with the main topic of somnology,
organized by
Semmelweis University of Budapest, have also been conducted in
Honvédkórház ÁEK
(Military Hospital – State Health Centre) since 1999 for the medical
specialists involved.
Our international activity
manifests in the active participation in conferences organized by the
European
Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine,
joining to
multicenter studies, as well as the organization of international
further
trainings and the publication of reports.