Being Referred to a Sleep Specialist
Your PCP will refer you to a sleep specialist if he determines that you need further evaluation.
Many different kinds of doctors can see sleep disorder patients.
Sleep medicine is an emerging specialty and more and more doctors are choosing to focus their studies in this area.
But sleep medicine is still a sub specialty and doctors must complete their medical training and primary specialty training before they study sleep medicine.
For example, a doctor can be a neurologist or a neurologist and sleep specialist, but not just sleep specialist.
Sleep specialists are trained to recognize the symptoms of all known sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, parasomnias, narcolepsy, various primary and secondary insomnias, restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement disorders.
In addition, they also: o Conduct sleep tests including overnight polysomnography (PSG) and multiple sleep latency tests (MLSTs) and interpret the results o Formulate treatment plans for patients who need continuing specialized care o Identify the different stage of sleep, including sleep arousals, abnormal breathing patterns nocturnal movements, snoring and epileptiform brain wave patterns (brain waves associated with epilepsy) If you live in a rural area, you may not be able to find a sleep specialist nearby because sleep medicine is a relatively new specialty that just now is beginning to catch on outside of large urban and teaching hospital settings.
If you have health insurance, visits to your PCP are usually covered, but check with your carrier before you schedule an appointment with a specialist to make sure you will be reimbursed.
Most health insurance policies cover 1 sleep test per year but may not cover all specialist visits unless you get an okay from your insurance company before the visit.
Many different kinds of doctors can see sleep disorder patients.
Sleep medicine is an emerging specialty and more and more doctors are choosing to focus their studies in this area.
But sleep medicine is still a sub specialty and doctors must complete their medical training and primary specialty training before they study sleep medicine.
For example, a doctor can be a neurologist or a neurologist and sleep specialist, but not just sleep specialist.
Sleep specialists are trained to recognize the symptoms of all known sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, parasomnias, narcolepsy, various primary and secondary insomnias, restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement disorders.
In addition, they also: o Conduct sleep tests including overnight polysomnography (PSG) and multiple sleep latency tests (MLSTs) and interpret the results o Formulate treatment plans for patients who need continuing specialized care o Identify the different stage of sleep, including sleep arousals, abnormal breathing patterns nocturnal movements, snoring and epileptiform brain wave patterns (brain waves associated with epilepsy) If you live in a rural area, you may not be able to find a sleep specialist nearby because sleep medicine is a relatively new specialty that just now is beginning to catch on outside of large urban and teaching hospital settings.
If you have health insurance, visits to your PCP are usually covered, but check with your carrier before you schedule an appointment with a specialist to make sure you will be reimbursed.
Most health insurance policies cover 1 sleep test per year but may not cover all specialist visits unless you get an okay from your insurance company before the visit.
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