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Sleep medicine is slow to adopt new technology. This challenge is compounded for pediatric patients as they are often less of a priority.

As with most areas of medicine, insurance often dictates which treatments get utilized. In this case, even though WatchPAT is an FDA-approved home sleep technology, insurance traditionally has covered in-lab studies for this age group. Likely because home sleep testing only recently grew in popularity as the technology’s level of sophistication rose.

The charge for a typical in-lab study is between $1,500 and $3,000 and requires a considerable investment of time from parents. Most labs recognize this as significant revenue. As such, little has occurred to encourage insurance companies to cover home sleep testing as an alternative for adolescent patients.

The massive barriers to pediatric testing have created a significantly underserved area of medicine. Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Endocrinology, Urology and other specialists can help patients quickly determine if sleep apnea is a concern. This information can guide treatment decisions and may determine if a need truly exists for more invasive and expensive overnight testing.