Is an ENT required for machine Rx?

I’ve been using a CPAP for years. I think I’m eligible for a new machine, but I know I’ll need to get a new sleep study done. There’s pretty much only one ENT practice in my area that’s convenient, and I have a strong dislike for both their providers and staff. Can I schedule the sleep study and put my PCP as the one to receive the results?

I'm pretty sure you can do it online and at home, never going into an office or spending the night in a sleep lab. https://www.resmed.com/en-us/sleep-heal ... list-care/

Or, perhaps you could do a telehealth appt with a sleep doc and they can write you a 'scipt for a new machine.

It's not mandatory that you see a sleep medicine specialist or ENT, or get a new sleep study done, just to renew an expired existing CPAP prescription.

If your primary doctor, or any NP or PA under their supervision, is aware that you use a CPAP and has a record or knowledge of a past sleep study in which you participated, he or she will typically be willing to issue a prescription in order for you to obtain your new machine and supplies etc.

Alternatively, you can also get your prescription renewed online fairly easily and quickly after a quick telehealth consultation with a board-certified sleep professional. Here's a link to one example of this online prescription renewal service, but there are many others out there too.

Whether a new sleep study is warranted in your case is another issue for whatever professional you choose to decide.

fasttimes wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 27, 2025 7:49 am

but I know I’ll need to get a new sleep study done

Please don't do that. It's a terrible waste of resources.

When my sleep doctor retired, I asked my GP to update my CPAP prescription. He knows nothing about CPAP, but he has been writing what I tell him for years.

Almost any medical professional who can write any prescription can write your CPAP prescription, including your dentist.

I've replaced my machine 3 times with insurance, twice with corporate and the 3rd with Medicare. A sleep study was required in every time to get insurance coverage. In each case I had years of documented compliance. I think it depends on the insurance policy. Its possible that Medicare would have covered it but that my secondary policy required the test, I'm not sure. In any case it is common in my experience to need more than a prescription.

mlmollenkamp wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 08, 2026 6:07 pm

I've replaced my machine 3 times with insurance, twice with corporate and the 3rd with Medicare. A sleep study was required in every time to get insurance coverage. In each case I had years of documented compliance. I think it depends on the insurance policy. Its possible that Medicare would have covered it but that my secondary policy required the test, I'm not sure. In any case it is common in my experience to need more than a prescription.

What does insurance have to do with the OP's question, or the subsequent replies until now? I mean no disrespect, but your post is the first to mention it. Insurance is well-known for being more of an obstacle than an advocate for sleep apnea wellness.

Good point.