Understanding Your Sleep Study Journey
A transparent guide to the complete sleep study process and why each step matters for your diagnosis and treatment.
Common Question Answered
"Why do I need a follow-up visit after paying for the initial consultation AND the sleep study?"
This is a standard practice at every major sleep center including Stanford, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern, and Harvard-affiliated facilities. The follow-up consultation is a comprehensive medical visit where we review your 200+ pages of data, confirm diagnosis, discuss ALL treatment options, determine if additional testing is needed, and create your personalized treatment plan. It's not a quick "here are your results" call—it's medical decision-making that requires clinical expertise and time.
The Complete Process: 3 Essential Steps
Step 1: Initial Consultation
What happens: Comprehensive medical history, physical examination, symptom review, and preliminary diagnosis of suspected sleep disorder
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Cost: New patient visit fee (insurance-based or self-pay)
Why it's separate: This is a diagnostic evaluation to determine IF you need a sleep study and which TYPE of study is appropriate for your symptoms.
Step 2: Sleep Study (PSG or HST)
What happens: Overnight monitoring to collect physiological data (brain waves, breathing, oxygen levels, heart rhythm, leg movements, body position)
Duration: 7-10 hours overnight (in-lab) or 2-3 nights (home test)
Cost: Sleep study fee (covered by insurance with prior authorization)
Important: The sleep study collects RAW DATA. It doesn't provide a diagnosis or treatment plan—that requires expert interpretation by a board-certified sleep physician.
Step 3: Results & Treatment Planning Consultation(The one patients ask about)
What happens:
- Comprehensive review of your 200+ pages of sleep study data
- Diagnosis confirmation (or ruling out sleep apnea/other disorders)
- Discussion of ALL treatment options tailored to YOUR specific situation
- Determining if additional testing is needed (MSLT for narcolepsy, cardiac evaluation, DISE for surgery planning)
- Creating your personalized treatment plan
- Answering all your questions about diagnosis, treatment, and next steps
- Providing insurance documentation for treatment authorization
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Cost: Follow-up visit fee (insurance-based or self-pay)
Why it's a separate visit: This is comprehensive medical decision-making that requires clinical expertise, time, and documentation. It's not a quick "here are your results" phone call—it's the most important step in your treatment journey.
Why This is Standard Medical Practice Everywhere
This three-step process is not unique to Dream Sleep Medicine. Every major sleep center in the United States follows this model:
- Stanford Sleep Medicine Center
- Northwestern Sleep Disorders Center
- Harvard-affiliated sleep centers
- Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center
- Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center
- AASM-accredited centers nationwide
Why the Medical Community Requires This Step:
200+ pages of physiological data that require board-certified expertise to interpret correctly. Automated scoring algorithms miss nuances.
CPAP, oral appliances, Inspire, Genio, positional therapy, weight loss, surgery—each has specific indications. Choosing the right one requires understanding your anatomy, lifestyle, and preferences.
We can't know until reviewing results whether you need MSLT (for narcolepsy), cardiac evaluation (for arrhythmias), or DISE (for surgical planning).
Treatment authorization requires detailed documentation that can only come from a comprehensive physician consultation.
The Danger of Skipping Proper Follow-Up
Many "online sleep testing" services offer mail-in tests with automated reports sent via email or patient portal. This is why sleep disorders take 10+ years to diagnose on average.
We see this regularly: Patients who used "quick online tests" were told "you don't have sleep apnea"—then we review their study and find they DO have moderate sleep apnea, or we discover narcolepsy that automated scoring missed.
Common Questions About the Process
Can't you just call me with the results?
We could, but you'd miss out on:
- Understanding your specific data patterns and what they mean
- Exploring ALL treatment options, not just the most common
- Asking questions about your diagnosis and next steps
- Determining if additional testing is needed before treatment
- Getting proper insurance documentation for treatment authorization
- Creating a personalized treatment plan based on your lifestyle and preferences
A phone call can't replace a comprehensive medical consultation. Your health deserves more than a 5-minute automated summary.
Other places don't charge separately for this
Actually, they do—it's just hidden differently:
Online services often don't offer comprehensive consultation at all. They send automated reports with no physician review or treatment planning.
In-person clinics that claim "free results review" are building this cost into inflated sleep study fees or equipment sales. Nothing in healthcare is actually "free"—costs are always passed along somewhere.
We believe in transparent pricing where you understand what you're paying for at each step.
I just want to know if I have sleep apnea—why is this so complicated?
We understand the frustration! But sleep medicine is more nuanced than "yes/no" for sleep apnea:
- Different types exist: Obstructive, central, mixed, positional, REM-related
- Severity matters for treatment: Mild, moderate, severe require different approaches
- Comorbid conditions are common: Narcolepsy, PLMD, insomnia often coexist
- Anatomy affects treatment: Some treatments won't work depending on your airway anatomy
- Lifestyle factors matter: Weight, sleep position, alcohol use all impact treatment success
This consultation ensures you get the RIGHT diagnosis and RIGHT treatment, not just a quick answer that might be incomplete or inaccurate.
Ready to Start Your Sleep Health Journey?
We're committed to providing comprehensive, transparent care at every step. Schedule your initial consultation to begin the process.