USA sleep study waiting times? Washington State

[BCman]

Dear American friends:

How quickly can you get a lab sleep study booked?
Anyone with any experience in this?
Im looking around Washington State

Thanks in advance

[Jerseyguy]

Dear American friends:

How quickly can you get a lab sleep study booked?
Anyone with any experience in this?
Im looking around Washington State

Thanks in advance

If your paying full price, Id bet they would fit you in ASAP but i dont know. I only had a home study done. What is the wait in Canada? Or do I not want to know lol

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[zoocrewphoto]

Mine was only a couple weeks, and it was a really good experience. But, it was also one of the most expensive ones I have heard about. I am glad I didn't know the cost ahead of time. I might not have done it. The lab was comfortable, quiet, sleep number bed. The techs were awesome. They fitted me for a mask before I went to bed and had me use it for about 10 minutes so that it wasn't a shock later in the night. When I woke up and tried to go back to sleep, but needed to use the bathroom; I was embarrassed. I didn't know that was normal for sleep apnea, and of course, you have to call for help since you are wired up. The tech came in, said something about seeing I was awake and needing to check a cable. It was just an icebreaker as she probably sees it all the time. Later, when she woke me to start the titration phase, she also suggested I use the bathroom. This tech picked the perfect mask for me. Later, I requested the same mask, and after a few weeks of struggling, I learned about the smaller headgear and that fixed my problem. But I knew the mask was the right one as it had worked for 5+ hours straight without any leaks when she fitted it. I didn't have to go through the mask search that most people have to do.

My sleep study was at St. Francis hospital in Federal Way, WA (about 10 miles south of Seatac Airport). It was in another building, so quiet. But if something happens, you are right there at the hospital.

They billed my insurance $6392. My insurance allowed $4411, and paid $3333 of that. I hadn't met my deductible yet, so between that and my 15%, I paid 1078. I have heard a lot of people saying they paid far less than that. Some had good ones, some had struggles.

I got my sleep study scheduled about 2 weeks after my primary doctor referred me. I had my followup with the sleep doctor (another building across from the hospital) about a week and a half after the sleep study. They He has probably retired by now as my study was in 2012, and he was already down to part time. But he has sleep apnea himself and only prescribes full data auto machines. And he prescribes a a reasonable range. For example, my prescription was written for 11-17 which has worked really well. No wide open settings from him. If he is still working, his name is Dr. David Brown. I just looked online, and his info is still up.

Later, I let my mom use my machine for two partial nights and printed the reports. My mom got an appointment with him. He was very pleased to see what I had done, and prescribed a new machine for her with better settings. He was also happy to hear about this forum.

[BCman]

Dear American friends:

How quickly can you get a lab sleep study booked?
Anyone with any experience in this?
Im looking around Washington State

Thanks in advance

If your paying full price, Id bet they would fit you in ASAP but i dont know. I only had a home study done. What is the wait in Canada? Or do I not want to know lol

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

4-6 months at a hospitable.
I just found a couple places I can get in, in just over a month that are privately run by pubically funded.

[BCman]

Mine was only a couple weeks, and it was a really good experience. But, it was also one of the most expensive ones I have heard about. I am glad I didn't know the cost ahead of time. I might not have done it. The lab was comfortable, quiet, sleep number bed. The techs were awesome. They fitted me for a mask before I went to bed and had me use it for about 10 minutes so that it wasn't a shock later in the night. When I woke up and tried to go back to sleep, but needed to use the bathroom; I was embarrassed. I didn't know that was normal for sleep apnea, and of course, you have to call for help since you are wired up. The tech came in, said something about seeing I was awake and needing to check a cable. It was just an icebreaker as she probably sees it all the time. Later, when she woke me to start the titration phase, she also suggested I use the bathroom. This tech picked the perfect mask for me. Later, I requested the same mask, and after a few weeks of struggling, I learned about the smaller headgear and that fixed my problem. But I knew the mask was the right one as it had worked for 5+ hours straight without any leaks when she fitted it. I didn't have to go through the mask search that most people have to do.

My sleep study was at St. Francis hospital in Federal Way, WA (about 10 miles south of Seatac Airport). It was in another building, so quiet. But if something happens, you are right there at the hospital.

They billed my insurance $6392. My insurance allowed $4411, and paid $3333 of that. I hadn't met my deductible yet, so between that and my 15%, I paid 1078. I have heard a lot of people saying they paid far less than that. Some had good ones, some had struggles.

I got my sleep study scheduled about 2 weeks after my primary doctor referred me. I had my followup with the sleep doctor (another building across from the hospital) about a week and a half after the sleep study. They He has probably retired by now as my study was in 2012, and he was already down to part time. But he has sleep apnea himself and only prescribes full data auto machines. And he prescribes a a reasonable range. For example, my prescription was written for 11-17 which has worked really well. No wide open settings from him. If he is still working, his name is Dr. David Brown. I just looked online, and his info is still up.

Later, I let my mom use my machine for two partial nights and printed the reports. My mom got an appointment with him. He was very pleased to see what I had done, and prescribed a new machine for her with better settings. He was also happy to hear about this forum.

Thankyou very much for the detailed response!
Just top notch effort on your part and info

[raisedfist]

It is hard to say as it depends on the lab among other things.

What I have found VERY helpful is to be overly friendly and polite with the reception/schedulers at the sleep lab and also tell them you are available on short notice in the case of cancellations (which happen quite often). I've done like 4-5 sleep studies over the years and most of the time I can get into the lab the same night that I call using these methods.

[Jerseyguy]

Dear American friends:

How quickly can you get a lab sleep study booked?
Anyone with any experience in this?
Im looking around Washington State

Thanks in advance

If your paying full price, Id bet they would fit you in ASAP but i dont know. I only had a home study done. What is the wait in Canada? Or do I not want to know lol

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

4-6 months at a hospitable.
I just found a couple places I can get in, in just over a month that are privately run by pubically funded.

Does the publically funded private place available on your national insurance or is it just subsidized so you wouldnt pay as much as if it was out of pocket?

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[BCman]

Dear American friends:

How quickly can you get a lab sleep study booked?
Anyone with any experience in this?
Im looking around Washington State

Thanks in advance

If your paying full price, Id bet they would fit you in ASAP but i dont know. I only had a home study done. What is the wait in Canada? Or do I not want to know lol

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

4-6 months at a hospitable.
I just found a couple places I can get in, in just over a month that are privately run by pubically funded.

Does the publically funded private place available on your national insurance or is it just subsidized so you wouldnt pay as much as if it was out of pocket?

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

Covered by provincial insurance.
One Province(Ontario) even covers the full cost of Cpap machines. I think Saskatchewan subsidizes and you have to pay $600. The rest you need to pay out of pocket unless you have insurance through work.

[Jerseyguy]

Dear American friends:

How quickly can you get a lab sleep study booked?
Anyone with any experience in this?
Im looking around Washington State

Thanks in advance

If your paying full price, Id bet they would fit you in ASAP but i dont know. I only had a home study done. What is the wait in Canada? Or do I not want to know lol

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

4-6 months at a hospitable.
I just found a couple places I can get in, in just over a month that are privately run by pubically funded.

Does the publically funded private place available on your national insurance or is it just subsidized so you wouldnt pay as much as if it was out of pocket?

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

Covered by provincial insurance.
One Province(Ontario) even covers the full cost of Cpap machines. I think Saskatchewan subsidizes and you have to pay $600. The rest you need to pay out of pocket unless you have insurance through work.

According to what Ive read, essential health services were covered. If you have sleep apnea, i would think a cpap machine would be pretty essential.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk