Sleep Studies

Sleep studies are noninvasive tests that involve attaching small monitoring devices to the head, arms, legs and torso to record and analyze your brain waves, breathing, heart rate, oxygen levels and muscle activity while you sleep. It can be the best way to diagnose sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, narcolepsy, parasomnias and other sleep conditions.

Sleep study devices are painless. They are designed to allow patients to move around and to be as comfortable as possible.

It takes about two weeks for the board-certified sleep specialist to analyze the data from your completed sleep study. The sleep specialist then creates the treatment plan to be shared with your referring healthcare provider who will then explain the results and recommendations to you.

*A physician's referral is required. Prior authorization from your insurance may also be required.

After the sleep study

When will the results be ready?
It typically takes about one week for the results to be processed and a final sleep study report to be loaded into your chart. Each sleep study is scored by a technician and then reviewed by a sleep specialist.

Who receives the final sleep study report?
We will scan a copy of your completed report into your chart. You can access it through the patient portal or through the Release of Information (ROI) office on the first floor, or by calling 803-641-5066 to complete a request for it to be sent to your desired location.

What do I do next? Do I need another sleep study or Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) device?
Depending on the results of the sleep study, you and your doctor will decide what action to take next. It also depends on the type of sleep study that you had.

If you had a titration study or split night study and were successfully titrated, the report will probably recommend a pressure. Based on your insurance company’s authorization a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) provider can set you up with a new PAP device or change the setting on your current device (if you already have one). Your physician will need to send a prescription or request authorization for a PAP device to your DME provider.

You may need to come in for another sleep study if one of the following applies:

1. You had ONLY a baseline study which reveals that you have a sleep disorder and may benefit from a titration study.
2. You had a titration study or split night study but the titration was not completed. This could happen because there was not enough time for the titration, or the titration did not eliminate all events at the end of the study.
3. Sometimes there are more complicated reasons for returning for another study. This will be detailed in your final sleep study report, and you should talk with your doctor if you have any questions.