What is the proper title for a sleep doc

[bwexler]

After 3 years on therapy it seems I should see someone who actually knows more than I do, to read and evaluate the detailed data from my S9 data card.
I have shown printouts to my primary care doc who is a DO. The first time he thought I had handed him the results of a sleep study. When I told him it was simply printouts from my Sleepyhead software and my CMS50i, he was amazed I could do all that at home.

When I requested a visit to a sleep doc the red tape was processed and approved. I called for an appointment. The place that was approved was a sleep lab that only did overnight studies and had no one on staff to interpret them.

Back to square one. What title should a knowledgeable sleep doc have besides MD. It appears pulmanologist and internist are not right, so who is.

[justMongo]

My "sleep doc" specializes in Internal Medicine. He's in a Respiratory group practice.
I don't think there's any special credential beyond a medical license to be a "sleep doc."

I should add: The practice is located next to an independent sleep lab; and he does interpretation for the lab.

[Tez62]

In Australia they are called a Sleep Specialist, in some countries ENT's Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist deal with sleep apnea, I know Dr Park in New York is a well known ENT specialist that specialises in Sleep Apnea, if you want to go cheap some DMEs or sleep centres can read them.

[PaulaO2]

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...eep_doctor
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...p_medicine

From what I can tell, there's not really a title, like surgeon or neurologist. Most are pulmonologists (lung docs) who have chosen to certify or specialize.

The National Sleep Foundation has a search you can do to find doctors and treatment centers.
I thought the American Sleep Apnea Association did but I couldn't find it. I did, however, end up with over six tabs open. Their website stinks. In doing a search for this, I found several places that listed centers and clinics but very few that actually listed doctors! That's like listing where to get a glucose meter but not telling you where to go with the information.

[mdh235]

When I requested a visit to a sleep doc the red tape was processed and approved. I called for an appointment. The place that was approved was a sleep lab that only did overnight studies and had no one on staff to interpret them.

Back to square one. What title should a knowledgeable sleep doc have besides MD. It appears pulmanologist and internist are not right, so who is.

That's a good question, and one I'm trying to figure out too.

I see a pulmonologist who shares a business address with the sleep lab that did my studies, but he isn't the person who wrote the reports on me. He also doesn't have access to the software needed to read ResMed data cards.

So is he a "sleep doc"? I don't think so, especially since after my titration study he's handed me off to his PA, who also only reads the the report the DME sent them.

Maybe large cities with universities with a Dept. of Medicine have them, but in my immediate vicinity there aren't any.

[bwexler]

Thanks to this group I am able to read my reports better than any of the MDs I have had access to so far.
Unfortunately that does not make me a genius. I still consider my self somewhere between a dummy and a novice when it comes to understanding my CPAP therapy and reading my reports.
I am not quite sure what that says about the folks I have been supposed to entrust my medical care, who all know less than I do.

[me50]

Thanks to this group I am able to read my reports better than any of the MDs I have had access to so far.
Unfortunately that does not make me a genius. I still consider my self somewhere between a dummy and a novice when it comes to understanding my CPAP therapy and reading my reports.
I am not quite sure what that says about the folks I have been supposed to entrust my medical care, who all know less than I do.

[PsychoMike]

As in all things, specialization makes a big difference. My 9-5 job is as an engineer, but they won't let me drive a train, for some reason :S

My MD doesn't read sleep studies, but she is curious. I don't see her making adjustments to my therapy...she lets the Respiratory Therapists at my DME take care of it. What I have found is the most DME's up here use RT's to manage, but have a specialized doc do the interpretation of the study, prescription for the machine and recommend settings.

[Crowfoot]

Further to this discussion, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, my Specialist is titled, 'Respiratory and Sleep Physician' however, the data that comes from the Sleep Lab in which this doctor has a financial interest, although it is located in the local public hospital, is interpreted by a technician specifically trained in that type of analysis.

[DocWils]

Generally, Pulmonology is the area that tends to deal with sleep disorders, as often it is considered a breathing disorder, although Neurology is also often in the same boat (think of CSA for example, and general sleep research, excluding SA, is usually conducted in Neuro labs). Sleep specialists tend to either have done their residency in one of the two disciplines, or both. It is rare, at lest over here, for a sleep specialists to be a General Practitioner. ENT sometimes also gravitates in this direction, but that is rarer. All in all it should be an interdisciplinary field, and there has been some movement here to start board certification only if the doctor has done all three fields, but that is unlikely to pass, given the extensive number of years if would take to meet such a certification.