FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
•Clinicians
•Insurers and Administrators
•Patients and Families
Q. How do I order a sleep study for my patient?
A. You can phone or fax in the referral. We simply need the patient’s name, phone number, address, and insurance information. Medical necessity information is always helpful for insurance authorization.
Q. What parameters are measured on my patient?
A. Sleep Data’s home studies record heart rate, respiratory effort, nasal-oral airflow, oxyhemoglobin saturation, snoring intensity and frequency, and body position.
Q. What information will the final report contain?
A. You will receive a respiratory disturbance index (RDI), a breakdown of the types of apneas, a breakdown of oxyhemoglobin saturations with percentages of time spent below specific levels, an autonomic arousal index, snoring frequency and intensity, body position, Epworth Sleepiness Score. The patient’s height, weight, neck circumference, age, race, and BMI will be on the report in addition to clinical correlation information from the questionnaire the patients fill out.
Q. How quickly will I get a final report back?
A. Typically the final report will be faxed to your office within one week. In STAT situations it can be sooner.
Q. How is the CPAP setting determined?
A. The starting CPAP setting is derived from a regression analysis formula that has been validated in the scientific literature. Several formulas have been validated against manual laboratory titration and auto-titration. The formulas utilize BMI, RDI, and neck circumference to determine the empiric level of CPAP. Regardless of the method used for determining the initial CPAP level, slight adjustments may be required based upon the patient’s response to treatment. Follow up studies can be performed to confirm efficacy.
Q. How does my patient obtain the CPAP or Bi-Level machine?
A. You will need to prescribe the CPAP or Bi-PAP machine and make a referral to a durable medical equipment (DME) company. That DME company will notify your patient and arrange for equipment orientation and set-up.
(back to top)
Q. Who will follow my patient after they’ve received their
CPAP or Bi-PAP machine?
A. Following a patient for OSAS should be a combined effort. The physician, sleep testing company, and DME company should participate in a team effort to assure that the patient is able to comply with therapy. Sleep Data often provides very specific clinical follow-up on the patients and this information is faxed to the DME company and referring physician. These are called “CPAP Follow-Up Questionnaires”.
(back to top)
Q. How much will the sleep study cost?
A. home-based studies range from $450 to $800 depending upon what is involved and how much follow up is provided.
Q. Are there contract rates available?
A. Sleep Data does offer contract rates to insurance companies and other medical providers. Please contact us for more information.
Q. How can we be assured home studies are adequate?
A. There are numerous scientific studies that have been published in the literature that validate the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea in the home. Please see our Home Study Validation section for references.
(back to top)
Q. What is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome?
A. Apnea literally means “no breath”. Obstructive sleep apnea is a syndrome characterized by an obstruction of the upper airway repeatedly throughout sleep. It is serious, potentially life altering, and life threatening. It is both easily identified and effectively treated.
Q. What causes snoring?
A. It is a noise produced primarily when a patient inspires during sleep, due to vibration of the soft palate and other tissues in the upper airway. All snorers have incomplete obstruction of the upper airway.
Q. What causes my airway to collapse during sleep?
A. This can be caused by extra tissue in the back of the airway such as inflamed tissue to enlarged tonsils or adenoids. The tongue can fall back into the airway and help block it. Also a decrease in the tone of the upper airway muscles that help hold the airway open can cause sleep apnea.
Q. How common is obstructive sleep apnea?
A. OSAS may affect as many as 20 million Americans. Some studies have suggested it is as common as adult asthma and approximately 80-90% of the population remains undiagnosed and untreated.
Q. What are the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea?
A. The most common symptoms are loud snoring, waking choking/gasping for air, witnessed apnea by a bed partner, daytime sleepiness, restless sleep, frequent a.m. headaches, hypertension, depression, obesity, sexual dysfunction, irritability, and large neck size (>17 in men & >16 in women).
(back to top)
Q. What should I do if I think I have obstructive sleep apnea syndrome?
A. You should see your doctor and have him or her determine if you need a sleep study.
Q. What is the difference between a hospital based sleep study vs. a home study?
A. Typically in the hospital a technician will monitor you throughout the night and in addition to the parameters measured in a home study, they will also measure your brain waves and leg movements.
Q. How and why would I want to have a home-based study?
A. home-based studies are obviously performed in your home so that you will sleep as you are used to sleeping. This should allow for a more representative sleep study. You can do the study when it is convenient for you and it will most likely be more cost effective.
Q. Does a technician stay in my home and watch me sleep?
A. No, a technician only delivers the equipment to your home or office and shows you how to perform the hook-up and disconnect. If necessary, a technician can come at your bedtime and perform the actual hook-up. The hook-up takes less than ten minutes. If you live outside of San Diego, Sleep Data will arrange to have the recorder delivered and picked up from your home or office. An instructional video will provide you with everything you need to know.
Q. What if I don’t understand the directions for performing the sleep study?
A. A technician is available by pager 24 hours a day, seven days/week. This is a toll free number and most questions can easily be answered over the telephone.
Q. If I am diagnosed with sleep apnea, how long will I have to wait to get treated?
A. The final sleep apnea report will be faxed to your doctor within one week of testing. Once your doctor has the final report, he or she can prescribe the appropriate therapy.
Q. What is the treatment for sleep apnea?
A. The initial treatment of choice for OSAS for the vast majority of OSAS patients is nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). If tolerated, CPAP has very few side effects and can immediately improve OSAS symptoms. Learn more about other treatment options.
Q. How does a CPAP machine work?
A. CPAP works as a pneumatic splint by providing a flow of continuous positive air pressure through a nasal mask to keep the airway open during sleep. Hence, your breathing becomes regular and the snoring is eliminated. Some patients require a nasal-oral mask.
Q. What happens if I don’t get treatment for my sleep apnea? Can this be dangerous?
A. Yes. OSAS is associated with hypertension, accidents, stroke, heart disease, heart attack, and decreased quality of life.
(back to top)
© Sleep Data, Inc 2011
“That we are not much sicker than we are is due to that most blessed of all natural graces, sleep.”
-Aldous Huxley
