Kathleen Sarmiento

Title(s)Professor, Medicine
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address505 Parnassus Avenue, #Suite 40
San Francisco CA 94117
Phone410-818-9643
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0002-5162-9808 Additional info
vCardDownload vCard

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse Education and Training
    University of California, San Francisco, CA2018Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training
    University of California, San Diego, CA2014National Center for Leadership in Academic Medicine
    University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD2009Sleep Medicine
    University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD2008Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
    University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD2005Internal Medicine
    Tulane University, New Orleans, LAMD, MPH2002Allopathic Medicine
    Collapse Awards and Honors
    Interagency Institute for Federal Health Leaders2024143rd Cohort, Veterans Health Administration Selectee,
    VHA Specialty Care Program Office2023Communications Award
    Veterans Health Administration2021VHA Diffusion Academy (Innovation Ecosystem)
    San Francisco Federal Executive Board2019Federal Employee of the Year
    Federal Health IT2018Federal Health Innovations Award
    VHA Innovation Program2017Women in Innovation
    VA San Diego Healthcare System2016Excellence in Leadership Award
    VA San Diego Healthcare System2016Be the Difference Award for Exemplary Patient Care
    VA San Diego Healthcare System2015Excellence in Teamwork Award
    American Thoracic Society2015ATS Young Investigator Award
    VA San Diego Healthcare System2014Excellence in Teamwork Award
    University of California, San Diego2014Valedictorian, National Center for Leadership in Academic Medicine
    American Academy of Sleep Medicine2013  - 2015Junior Faculty Research Award
    University of California, San Diego2013  - 2015Clinical Research Enhancement through Supplemental Training (CREST) K30 Program

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse Overview
    Kathleen Sarmiento is an Professor of Medicine at the VA San Francisco Health Care System and the Executive Director for VHA's National Sleep Medicine Program Office. Her research focuses on improving access to sleep care for both rural and urban Veterans by leveraging telehealth and hub-spoke partnerships, and by de-implementing low-value visits. Her current grant will assess the value of home sleep apnea testing in a broad range of comorbidities and pre-test risk for OSA, as well as study the impact of an initial consultation before sleep testing on adherence to therapy, patient satisfaction, and patient outcomes. Through the national implementation of VA’s TeleSleep Program, a variety of synchronous and asynchronous modalities to improve access, quality, and timeliness of care are evaluated. Dr. Sarmiento is also engaged in clinical research evaluating virtual care for sleep disorder evaluation and management, and hospital to home transitions and the benefit of non-invasive ventilation on morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic respiratory failure. She is an innovator and early adopter of technology, seeking to incorporate AI and machine learning into care delivery models to improve practice efficiency and patient outcomes.

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Research Activities and Funding
    Improving Access to Sleep Apnea Care: A Pragmatic Study of New Consultation Models
    NIH I01HX002198Aug 1, 2020 - Jul 31, 2024
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Description: • Major Goals: 1) impact of de-implementing initial consultations with sleep physicians prior to home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) on adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment, patient satisfaction, and functional outcomes; 2) negative predictive value of HSAT in Veterans with a broad range of comorbidities (CHF, COPD, stroke, morbid obesity, insomnia, PTSD, depression). Sensitivity and specificity will be calculated for subgroups. This research will address the sparse literature available on initial consultations and HSAT and will have high impact on shaping guidelines related to the use of home sleep apnea testing.

    Collapse ORNG Applications 
    Collapse Clinical Trials
    Collapse Collaboration Interests
    Collapse Academic Senate

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Insomnia and Chronic Pain Mediate the Relationship Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Reduced Positive Airway Pressure Adherence Among Veterans. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2024 Oct 29. Kinney AR, Schneider AL, Welsh C, Sarmiento KF, Ulmer CS, Forster JE, Abbott Z, Bahraini NH. PMID: 39531320.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    2. Implementing TeleSleep at Veterans Healthcare Administration: an organizational case study of adaptation and sustainment. Front Sleep. 2024 Sep 10; 3. Belkora JK, Reichert J, Williams K, Whooley MA, Rezayat T, Sorensen S, Chilakamarri P, Sanders E, Maas A, Gomez A, Kurien P, Ashbrook L, Thomas J, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 39507772; PMCID: PMC11539190.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    3. Philips leaving the United States: what does that mean for physicians, patients, and everyone in between? J Clin Sleep Med. 2024 Aug 01; 20(8):1373-1377. Nokes B, Sarmiento KF, Owens RL. PMID: 38656814; PMCID: PMC11294138.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    4. Trends in obstructive sleep apnea disease severity over nearly two decades: update on the VA San Diego experience. Sleep Adv. 2024; 5(1):zpae036. Nokes B, Zamora T, Velazquez Y, Golshan S, Cervantes-Gomeros C, Perrine W, Barker R, Malhotra A, Sarmiento KF, Stepnowsky C. PMID: 38957728; PMCID: PMC11217901.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    5. Time for a unified federal sleep health care workforce? J Clin Sleep Med. 2024 Jun 01; 20(6):847-848. Sarmiento KF, Gomez A, Atwood CW. PMID: 38597894; PMCID: PMC11145038.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    6. Sustainment of the TeleSleep program for rural veterans. Front Health Serv. 2023; 3:1214071. Belkora JK, Ortiz DeBoque L, Folmer RL, Totten AM, Williams K, Whooley MA, Boudreau E, Atwood CW, Zeidler M, Rezayat T, Chilakamarri P, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 38028943; PMCID: PMC10668014.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    7. Travel Burden as a Measure of Healthcare Access and the Impact of Telehealth within the Veterans Health Administration. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 07; 38(Suppl 3):805-813. Hahn Z, Hotchkiss J, Atwood C, Smith C, Totten A, Boudreau E, Folmer R, Chilakamarri P, Whooley M, Sarmiento K. PMID: 37340257; PMCID: PMC10356728.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    8. Examining the bidirectional relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters and PAP adherence. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023 05 01; 19(5):857-863. Colvonen PJ, Goldstein LA, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 36692162; PMCID: PMC10152361.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    9. Veterans Health Administration TeleSleep Enterprise-Wide Initiative 2017-2020: bringing sleep care to our nation's veterans. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023 05 01; 19(5):913-923. Chun VS, Whooley MA, Williams K, Zhang N, Zeidler MR, Atwood CW, Folmer RL, Totten AM, Smith CJ, Boudreau EA, Reichert JM, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 36708262; PMCID: PMC10152352.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    10. Veterans Health Administration response to 2021 recall of Philips Respironics devices: A case study. Front Sleep. 2023 Apr 12; 2. Belkora JK, Fields B, Shamim-Uzzaman QA, Stratford D, Alfandre D, Hollingshaus S, Yackel E, Geppert C, Nechanicky P, Nichols A, Williams K, Reichert J, Whooley MA, Francis J, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 38585370; PMCID: PMC10996451.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    11. International Consensus Statement on Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2023 07; 13(7):1061-1482. Chang JL, Goldberg AN, Alt JA, Mohammed A, Ashbrook L, Auckley D, Ayappa I, Bakhtiar H, Barrera JE, Bartley BL, Billings ME, Boon MS, Bosschieter P, Braverman I, Brodie K, Cabrera-Muffly C, Caesar R, Cahali MB, Cai Y, Cao M, Capasso R, Caples SM, Chahine LM, Chang CP, Chang KW, Chaudhary N, Cheong CSJ, Chowdhuri S, Cistulli PA, Claman D, Collen J, Coughlin KC, Creamer J, Davis EM, Dupuy-McCauley KL, Durr ML, Dutt M, Ali ME, Elkassabany NM, Epstein LJ, Fiala JA, Freedman N, Gill K, Gillespie MB, Golisch L, Gooneratne N, Gottlieb DJ, Green KK, Gulati A, Gurubhagavatula I, Hayward N, Hoff PT, Hoffmann OMG, Holfinger SJ, Hsia J, Huntley C, Huoh KC, Huyett P, Inala S, Ishman SL, Jella TK, Jobanputra AM, Johnson AP, Junna MR, Kado JT, Kaffenberger TM, Kapur VK, Kezirian EJ, Khan M, Kirsch DB, Kominsky A, Kryger M, Krystal AD, Kushida CA, Kuzniar TJ, Lam DJ, Lettieri CJ, Lim DC, Lin HC, Liu SYC, MacKay SG, Magalang UJ, Malhotra A, Mansukhani MP, Maurer JT, May AM, Mitchell RB, Mokhlesi B, Mullins AE, Nada EM, Naik S, Nokes B, Olson MD, Pack AI, Pang EB, Pang KP, Patil SP, Van de Perck E, Piccirillo JF, Pien GW, Piper AJ, Plawecki A, Quigg M, Ravesloot MJL, Redline S, Rotenberg BW, Ryden A, Sarmiento KF, Sbeih F, Schell AE, Schmickl CN, Schotland HM, Schwab RJ, Seo J, Shah N, Shelgikar AV, Shochat I, Soose RJ, Steele TO, Stephens E, Stepnowsky C, Strohl KP, Sutherland K, Suurna MV, Thaler E, Thapa S, Vanderveken OM, de Vries N, Weaver EM, Weir ID, Wolfe LF, Woodson BT, Won CHJ, Xu J, Yalamanchi P, Yaremchuk K, Yeghiazarians Y, Yu JL, Zeidler M, Rosen IM. PMID: 36068685; PMCID: PMC10359192.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 49     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    12. Sleep disorders among rural Veterans: Relative prevalence, comorbidities, and comparisons with urban Veterans. J Rural Health. 2023 06; 39(3):582-594. Folmer RL, Smith CJ, Boudreau EA, Totten AM, Chilakamarri P, Atwood CW, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 36333991.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    13. Barriers to positive airway pressure adherence among veterans with sleep apnea: a mixed methods study. Transl Behav Med. 2022 08 17; 12(8):870-877. Goldstein LA, Purcell N, Sarmiento KF, Neylan TC, Maguen S. PMID: 35640475.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    14. Study protocol to assess de-implementation of the initial provider encounter for diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea: the DREAM (Direct Referral for Apnea Monitoring) Project. BMC Pulm Med. 2022 Apr 02; 22(1):123. Folmer RL, Boudreau EA, Atwood CW, Smith CJ, Totten AM, Tock JL, Chilakamarri P, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 35366836; PMCID: PMC8976272.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    15. Epidemiology of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis among U.S. Veterans, 2010-2019. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2022 02; 19(2):196-203. Kaul B, Lee JS, Zhang N, Vittinghoff E, Sarmiento K, Collard HR, Whooley MA. PMID: 34314645; PMCID: PMC8867365.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 20     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    16. Long-term effects of solriamfetol on quality of life and work productivity in participants with excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021 10 01; 17(10):1995-2007. Weaver TE, Pepin JL, Schwab R, Shapiro C, Hedner J, Ahmed M, Foldvary-Schaefer N, Strollo PJ, Mayer G, Sarmiento K, Baladi M, Bron M, Chandler P, Lee L, Malhotra A. PMID: 34606437; PMCID: PMC8494093.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    17. Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a novel web-based sleep apnea management platform. Sleep. 2021 04 09; 44(4). Chang YHA, Folmer RL, Shasha B, Shea JA, Sarmiento K, Stepnowsky CJ, Lim D, Pack A, Kuna ST. PMID: 33216916; PMCID: PMC8033449.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    18. Does Community Outsourcing Improve Timeliness of Care for Veterans With Obstructive Sleep Apnea? Med Care. 2021 02 01; 59(2):111-117. Kaul B, Hynes DM, Hickok A, Smith C, Niederhausen M, Totten AM, Whooley MA, Sarmiento K. PMID: 33290324; PMCID: PMC7899214.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    19. Leveraging Telehealth to improve access to care: a qualitative evaluation of Veterans' experience with the VA TeleSleep program. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Jan 21; 21(1):77. Nicosia FM, Kaul B, Totten AM, Silvestrini MC, Williams K, Whooley MA, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 33478497; PMCID: PMC7818059.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    20. Implementation Strategies for Frontline Healthcare Professionals: People, Process Mapping, and Problem Solving. J Gen Intern Med. 2021 02; 36(2):506-510. Lu AD, Kaul B, Reichert J, Kilbourne AM, Sarmiento KF, Whooley MA. PMID: 32918200; PMCID: PMC7878661.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    21. Effects of Computer-Based Documentation Procedures on Health Care Workload Assessment and Resource Allocation: An Example From VA Sleep Medicine Programs. Fed Pract. 2020 Aug; 37(8):368-374. Sarmiento KF, Boudreau EA, Smith CJ, Kaul B, Johnson N, Folmer RL. PMID: 32908344; PMCID: PMC7473737.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4  
    22. Prevalence and management of sleep disorders in the Veterans Health Administration. Sleep Med Rev. 2020 12; 54:101358. Folmer RL, Smith CJ, Boudreau EA, Hickok AW, Totten AM, Kaul B, Stepnowsky CJ, Whooley MA, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 32791487.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 25     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    23. Comparing VA and Community-Based Care: Trends in Sleep Studies Following the Veterans Choice Act. J Gen Intern Med. 2020 09; 35(9):2593-2599. Weaver FM, Hickok A, Prasad B, Tarlov E, Zhang Q, Taylor A, Bartle B, Gordon H, Young R, Sarmiento K, Hynes DM. PMID: 32242312; PMCID: PMC7459009.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    24. Long-term study of the safety and maintenance of efficacy of solriamfetol (JZP-110) in the treatment of excessive sleepiness in participants with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep. 2020 02 13; 43(2). Malhotra A, Shapiro C, Pepin JL, Hedner J, Ahmed M, Foldvary-Schaefer N, Strollo PJ, Mayer G, Sarmiento K, Baladi M, Chandler P, Lee L, Schwab R. PMID: 31691827; PMCID: PMC7315408.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 29     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    25. National Expansion of Sleep Telemedicine for Veterans: The TeleSleep Program. J Clin Sleep Med. 2019 09 15; 15(9):1355-1364. Sarmiento KF, Folmer RL, Stepnowsky CJ, Whooley MA, Boudreau EA, Kuna ST, Atwood CW, Smith CJ, Yarbrough WC. PMID: 31538607; PMCID: PMC6760390.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 26     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    26. Comorbidities, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Work Productivity Among People With Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Excessive Sleepiness: Findings From the 2016 US National Health and Wellness Survey. J Clin Sleep Med. 2019 02 15; 15(2):235-243. Stepnowsky C, Sarmiento KF, Bujanover S, Villa KF, Li VW, Flores NM. PMID: 30736870; PMCID: PMC6374092.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 33     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    27. Advancing Treatment of Comorbid PTSD and OSA. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017 06 15; 13(6):843-844. Goldstein LA, Colvonen PJ, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 28454602; PMCID: PMC5443749.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    28. Utility of home sleep apnea testing in high-risk veterans. Sleep Breath. 2017 Sep; 21(3):647-655. Cairns A, Sarmiento K, Bogan R. PMID: 28243925.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    29. Treatment of OSA with CPAP Is Associated with Improvement in PTSD Symptoms among Veterans. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017 01 15; 13(1):57-63. Orr JE, Smales C, Alexander TH, Stepnowsky C, Pillar G, Malhotra A, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 27707436; PMCID: PMC5181615.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 30     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    30. ATS Core Curriculum 2016: Part I. Adult Sleep Medicine. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2016 Apr; 13(4):549-61. Balachandran JS, Thomson CC, Sumter DB, Shelgikar AV, Lachapelle P, Pamidi S, Fall M, Lal C, Baba RY, Shah N, Fields BG, Sarmiento K, Butler MP, Shea SA, Baptiste JV, Sharkey KM, Wang T. PMID: 27058183; PMCID: PMC5461994.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    31. Mechanisms and implications of the link between sleep apnoea and chronic kidney disease. Respirology. 2016 May; 21(4):578-9. Hepokoski ML, Wali AR, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 27030604.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    32. Weaving the Internet of Sleep: The Future of Patient-Centric Collaborative Sleep Health Management Using Web-Based Platforms. Sleep. 2015 Aug 01; 38(8):1157-8. Stepnowsky C, Sarmiento KF, Amdur A. PMID: 26194574; PMCID: PMC4507720.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    33. Stimulating Progress in the Upper Airway. Sleep. 2015 Jun 01; 38(6):851-2. Orr JE, Ishman SL, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 26039962; PMCID: PMC4434550.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    34. The state of Veterans Affairs sleep medicine programs: 2012 inventory results. Sleep Breath. 2016 Mar; 20(1):379-82. Sarmiento K, Rossettie J, Stepnowsky C, Atwood C, Calvitti A, VA Sleep Network. PMID: 25924933.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    35. Obstructive sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation: is the link real? J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Nov 11; 64(19):2024-5. Malhotra A, Neilan TG, Sarmiento K. PMID: 25440098; PMCID: PMC4344462.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    36. Accuracy of positive airway pressure device-measured apneas and hypopneas: role in treatment followup. Sleep Disord. 2013; 2013:314589. Stepnowsky C, Zamora T, Barker R, Liu L, Sarmiento K. PMID: 24062954; PMCID: PMC3767059.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5  
    37. Update in sleep medicine 2012. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013 May 15; 187(10):1056-60. Kohli P, Sarmiento K, Malhotra A. PMID: 23675714; PMCID: PMC5448513.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    38. Development of hepatic failure despite use of intravenous acetylcysteine after a massive ingestion of acetaminophen and diphenhydramine. Ann Emerg Med. 2009 Sep; 54(3):421-3. Schwartz EA, Hayes BD, Sarmiento KF. PMID: 18986731.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    Kathleen's Networks
    Concepts (97)
    Derived automatically from this person's publications.
    _
    Co-Authors (38)
    People in Profiles who have published with this person.
    _
    Similar People (60)
    People who share similar concepts with this person.
    _
    Same Department
    Search Department
    _