A Brief Introduction of Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine

In recent thirty years, profound progress has been made in the sleep medicine. In the past, only psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists, and physiologists paid attention to the issue on the sleep study; scholars in the division of Chest, Laryngology, Oral Surgery, Cardiology, and Endocrinology have successively involved in the study on the sleep medicine since 1970s due to the emphasis on the sleep apnea syndrome. Hence, the sleep medicine has thrived even more both in the fundamental study and the clinical practice with remarkable advances, and has developed into an independent subspecialty discipline in developed countries.

The sleep medicine develops relatively late in Taiwan. In 1980s, several scholars going to North America for the further study on sleep disorders returned to Taiwan one after another and became aware of the importance of the sleep medicine; they established sleep labs in different medical centers and initiated the study and the treatment for the sleep medicine in Taiwan. After 1990s, the technology of the sleep medicine has increasingly developed, sleep labs in Taiwan have gradually grown, and fundamental medical workers have also engaged themselves in the field. The sleep medicine has flourished in recent five years, but several issues have emerged as well. For instance: 1. The quality control of the sleep examination. 2. The certification of trainings for sleep technologists and physicians. 3. The cross-discipline integration of the sleep disorder treatment. 4. Extreme lack of related fundamental studies on the sleep. 5. Unestablished medical associations of specialty, causing the disconnection with international groups of the sleep medicine for promoting exchanges of academic activities. Therefore, colleagues in the field of the sleep medicine advocate founding Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine in accordance with the concerns mentioned above.

The processes of the establishment of the society are as below:

Held the preparatory meeting at Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei on March 16, 2001.

Submitted the official application with the title “Preparatory Committee for Taiwan Medical Association of Sleep Medicine” to Department of Social Affairs of Ministry of Interior on June 18, 2001.

After notifying Department of Medical Affairs on October 19, 2001, Department of Social Affairs considered that the title “Taiwan Medical Association of Sleep Medicine” was not appropriate given members including physicians, sleep technologists, and other researchers, so the change of the title “Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine” was approved by the official letter and hence the society was founded.

The pathfinder meeting was held at Astar Hotel Taipei on November 2, 2001, and Tung-Heng Wang, Yu-Chou Li, Hsueh-Yu Li, Ching-Chi Lin, Yang-Chuan Chang, Hsueh-Yi Chang, Ning-Hung Chen, Hsiao-Sui Lo, Sheng-Yi Liu, Tung-Ping Su, and Kuang-Ming Hsiao, eleven in total were promoted to be preparatory commissioners; the first preparatory committee meeting was held instantly to recruit members in all fields.

The second preparatory committee meeting was held at NTU Alumni Association Hall on January 18, 2002.

The inaugural meeting was held at Chih De Building of Taipei Veterans General Hospital on March 23, 2002.

1. Enhance the level of the sleep treatment in Taiwan. Will hold a series of training courses in the technology of the sleep examination and the clinical practice.

2. Hold educational speeches on public sleep medicine on a regular basis.

3. Build the translation of the sleep medicine in Taiwan.

4. Hold academic speeches on a regular basis.

The list of pathfinders of “Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine”

Ning-Hung Chen, Wu-Feng Hsieh, Ming-Lung Chuang, Yen-Hung Chen, Chun-Shih Chin, Kuang-Ming Hsiao, Ching-Chi Lin, Chu-Hsien Wang, Hsiao-Sui Lo, Yun-Ju Wu, Kai-Ming Chang, Hsueh-Yu Li, Hsiu-Chih Liu, Sheng-Yi Liu, Hsin-Hung Pan, Jen-Chun Hsieh, Tung-Ping Su, Cheng-Hung Yang, Chiung-Hsing Huang, Tung-Heng Wang, Po-Chao Kuo, Ching-Hsiu Yang, Chi-Mai Lai, Hsueh-Yi Chang, Ta-Chun Wang, Chung-Jen Yu, Yang-Chuan Chang, Ming-Chang Chiu, Ching-Jui Chang, and Yu-Chou Li (thirty in total).

The list of preparatory commissioners of  “Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine”

Chairperson:  Kuang-Ming Hsiao

Preparatory Commissioners: Yu-Chou Li, Yang-Chuan Chang, Tung-Ping Su, Hsueh-Yi Chang, Hsiao-Sui Lo, Ching-Chi Lin, Ning-Hung Chen, Hsueh-Yu Li, Tung-Heng

Merbership of TSSM in 2023