Second home sleep monitor funded

01 Jun Second home sleep monitor funded

Thanks to the Harney Hospital Foundation (HHF), more Harney County patients will be able to do sleep studies in the comfort of their own home, without having to make a long drive out of town. HHF’s funding of the purchase of a second home sleep monitor for Harney District Hospital (HDH) will increase scheduling options for patients by allowing two studies to be done in a single night.

Sleep studies help to diagnose sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, insomnia, and nighttime behaviors, such as sleepwalking. Often these disorders cannot be identified during a normal office visit with a provider — more conclusive evidence needs to be gathered while the patient is asleep.

HDH’s home sleep monitors have four channels that record heart rate, oxygen level, airflow and chest movement. Patients are sent home with instructions on how to hook up the device for a one-night period of sleep. Once returned, the information captured by the monitor is sent to a sleep physician, who then interprets it and provides a recommendation to the patient’s primary care provider. This recommendation allows the provider to order appropriate treatment for the patient.

Most patients can get an order for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy after a home sleep study, which is the treatment of choice for sleep-related problems (however more complex cases may still require formal sleep studies with closer monitoring in a sleep lab). New technology with CPAP machines allows information to be sent to someone who can monitor how well the machine is working for the patient, and even allow adjustments to be made remotely.