Market for Sleep Labs Will Shrink

[GumbyCT]

Are you old enough to remember them?

No, I'm not, but we're studying the Jurassic Period in school. You know, Brontosauruses, Tyrannosauruses, the Beatles. Stuff like that.

Muffy

I'm willing to bet that Muffy is old enuff to remember when people died from natural causes because when they stopped breathing they naturally died.

[Slinky]

Giggle. Snork. Choke. Good'un, Gumby!!! Touche!

[Silver Pelt]

Eventually 90%+ of the diagnosis will be done at home with novel new portable equipment.

This could be done today if there weren't so many people making obscene amounts of money from the sleep lab/DME scam.

Meet with a person, take a history, decide whether or not there is reason to test for sleep apnea.
Fit them with a mask.
Send them home with an auto-titrating, data recording xPAP machine and a pulse oximeter.
Have them sleep with the machine 2 or 3 nights, and without the machine 2 or 3 nights, and all nights with the pulse ox.
Return and review the data. Very high probability of identifying normal apnea, no apnea, and suspicion of central apnea.
Refer all central apneas to real sleep doc (not one of the report-generators collecting bribes today) for further diagnosis and treatment.
All the ones who show clear signs of apnea: lease/sell xPap machines, and/or refer to CPAP.com. Their choice. Some folks like to be taken care of, others want to be in charge of their care.
Let the marginal cases know they are marginal, ask them what they want to do.

I could set up this business in my house. I could help hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. I could charge a small fraction
of what a sleep lab costs and still make a very nice amount of money.

But then men with guns would show up at the door, and I would find myself in handcuffs. I look terrible in orange.

The markets for sleep labs will shrink. But they will shrink when the men with guns stop showing up. The rest is already in place.

[SuperGeeky]

Chatting with the Sleep Tech on my first Sleep Study, she started telling 'War Stories'. Fascinating none the less...

Specifically, having to call 911 after starting a Patient's Sleep Study. Yes, the heart was that close to blowing a gasket. Patient had to be rushed into heart surgery, if my memory serves me well.

Though, home studies will be cost prohibitive in our new Health Care System of coverage. Does it cover all the risk contingencies??

Nah, let's save the money

SG

[cinco777]

Specifically, having to call 911 after starting a Patient's Sleep Study. Yes, the heart was that close to blowing a gasket. Patient had to be rushed into heart surgery, if my memory serves me well.

I heard a similar story 4 years ago from the technician (a woman) who monitored my 1st sleep study (no CPAP). I wonder if he (my tech said a man) was the same patient that your tech referenced.

Hearts can go at any time, anywhere. My mom had a heart attack while in the hospital and died in the operating room an hour later. Even being in the hospital (or Drs. office) offers no safety when your time is up

[SuperGeeky]

Nope, not the same Sleep Center. But, your making a subtle interesting point. How frequently does a Sleep Center have a near crisis situation during a given period of time?

The Sleep Tech told her stories quite casually and in a matter of fact way. I would suspect proper screening before determining a Home Study rather than Sleep Center. Now that I think of it, why not have a Sleep Tech monitor remotely. Technology is already there.

Hey, a Sleep Tech could work remotely monitoring home studies. Hmm, sounds like a new Startup in India....

It will happen, I'm sure!

Sleep well,

SG

[GumbyCT]

I agree, when your time is up is doesn't really matter which sleep center you are at.

Remote monitoring aside, I wouldn't think the sleep test was a contributing factor at all.

[superjet]

Can't come soon enough! Huge need. Wish we had oximeters that were smaller, communicated with our xPAPs, stored the data and then showed the O2 %s along with the events. These proposed devices should also communicate with our xPAPs or at the least should have software that allows users to read and save the results.

Isn't there a devilbiss machine now which does have a built in oximeter?

[superjet]

On that same note, Rooster, sir, In sleep review I think it was William Dement actually echoed that same thought. I dont have the article handy, but I'm sure it's not too hard to find.

[roster]

Chatting with the Sleep Tech on my first Sleep Study, she started telling 'War Stories'. Fascinating none the less...

Specifically, having to call 911 after starting a Patient's Sleep Study. Yes, the heart was that close to blowing a gasket. Patient had to be rushed into heart surgery, if my memory serves me well.

........

I had a thought (sorry guys) about this. Maybe individuals undergoing sleep studies are more likely to have a heart attack during the sleep study as compared to other times during their life. The reason for this would be that they sleep on their back during the studies and sleep on their sides and tummy otherwise.

There are some recent writings on the web somewhere about a high death rate after surgery being caused by the patients having to sleep on their backs when normally they do not. Their apnea is much worse on their back.

[roster]

........

This could be done today if there weren't so many people making obscene amounts of money from the sleep lab/DME scam.

.......

It's obscene because I am not making that much.

If I were making that much it would be clean, decent, innocent, moral, pure and upright.

[mdintx]

Chatting with the Sleep Tech on my first Sleep Study, she started telling 'War Stories'. Fascinating none the less...

Specifically, having to call 911 after starting a Patient's Sleep Study. Yes, the heart was that close to blowing a gasket. Patient had to be rushed into heart surgery, if my memory serves me well.

........

I had a thought (sorry guys) about this. Maybe individuals undergoing sleep studies are more likely to have a heart attack during the sleep study as compared to other times during their life. The reason for this would be that they sleep on their back during the studies and sleep on their sides and tummy otherwise.

Have folks here been instructed to sleep on their backs during the sleep study. My initial, I was given no instructions about body position. Since my apnea is entirely positional, I was only given instruction to stay on my back for the titration.

[roster]

Have folks here been instructed to sleep on their backs during the sleep study. My initial, I was given no instructions about body position. Since my apnea is entirely positional, I was only given instruction to stay on my back for the titration.

I was never given instructions, but with so many devices connected by wires to anterior parts of my body, I just felt like it was necessary to sleep on my back.

[plr66]

I would wonder if we all have a very clear memory of those sleep study/titration nights anyway, given the number of new experiences, anxiety, discomfort, & additional stimuli going on. I do remember being told to sleep on my back (as noted before...to produce the worst case scenario of the extent your airway will close with gravity).

[mdintx]

I would wonder if we all have a very clear memory of those sleep study/titration nights anyway, given the number of new experiences, anxiety, discomfort, & additional stimuli going on. I do remember being told to sleep on my back (as noted before...to produce the worst case scenario of the extent your airway will close with gravity).

I remember it fairly well. The doc reviewed the data with me on the computer and I could see my body position as the apneas were occurring. I recall that we talked about my apnea being positional though my snoring is not LOL!