Accessing Sleep Study Detailed Data

The sleep study centers usually will give you a summarized report of your sleep study. Has anyone ever gotten their detailed data from a sleep study? I am not familiar with the software they use, but it seems to me they could print out the entire report in a pdf file or some other common file format so that it can be taken to your doctor and you can ask a resonable question. I know doctors frown on this, because it takes their time and effort and they might have their ego put in check. I am thinking about asking for my detailed data so I can look over the sleep studies for myself. I am not sure what to ask for and how to ask it so that I get my way and they don't give me some BS run around response. I think the doctors use a computer program to do general summaries of the study and don't look at it themselves.

I can't wait to hear what others have to say about obtaining the report. On both my studies the sleep center only sent a little 3 page summary. When I asked the sleep tech about it on the second visit he said most general docs don't understand the detailed reports so they don't so they don't send them. When I asked my doctors office to request them, they told me to ask the sleep center directly. The sleep center told me they must be requested by doctor. I have been given the runaround, and so far haven't pursued the issue.

Hi borgready

My current sleep doctor took about an hour to go through my 3 page report, and I must admit that even then I did not understand everything he said. Now I understand a bit more, but I know the detailed data from a full night would have no meaning for me, and I just wonder why you would want that.

And why would you think your Doctor would make more sense of a detailed report than the summary. Most of us understand the summary better than the average Doctor.

cheers

Mars

My sleep doc spent well over an hour going through the 20+ page detailed report with me basically line by line -- explaining what was shown on each and every chart, contrasting good and bad sections of them, explaining why they reached the conclusions they did and fully answering each and every question I had along the way.

To my way of thinking THAT should be the norm but alas from what I'm hearing sadly it is the exception.

By the way -- did I mention that I think my sleep doc is tremendous, and, oh, for the record, she also has moderate to severe OSA....

There comes a point that we have to trust our Doctors. I like to understand and be involved with my treatment but my doctors, DME and RT are a valuable part of my treatment. If you have a doctor you do not trust or like then I recommend getting another member on your team.

You have Sleep Apnea or your don't. Your summery should be enough information to tell you if you do.

From this starting point, finding the best treatment for you will be a lot of trial and error based upon what I have read about the experience of others on this board.

The treatment you receive will be evaluated based on how you sleep tonight and future nights. One night does not define effective treatment. It is the accumulative data of weeks of treatment.

Going back to rehash and evaluate each event of your sleep study will not help you in my opinion. Why pick a fight?

Some sleep doctors graduated at the top of their class. Some graduated at the bottom of their class.

It is your health and your data and your therapy. If you want to know more and understand more then there is no reason why you should not insist on doing so. You're paying for it all. Whether thru insurance or out of pocket is immaterial.

Quite often YOU will pick up on something the doctor ignored.

What you should be asking for is the "full scored data summary report w/condensed graphs". For two of my PSGs I was also able to obtain a CD of the entire study that I could view at home. Not that it meant much to me - BUT - I "could" take it to another RPSGT and/or sleep doctor and THEY could check the scoring and determine if they agree w/that scoring or if they would have scored it differently AND save me and/or my insurance the cost of yet another in-lab PSG. And it WAS interesting to run thru the CD on my 'puter and see what they saw and their scoring even if I didn't totally understand it. ANOTHER report that can be interesting are the Tech's Notes which you can also ask for. I usually don't but one sleep doctor really torqued my jaws and I DID insist on receiving the Tech Notes from that PSG. I had more respect for the tech than for the sleep doctor who was a real sheister AND less than truthful in his office notes to make himself look good.

I had no problem getting my complete sleep report and a copy of my prescription. Your the one that authorizes who gets a copy of your medical reports. They have to give you a copy.