Frequently Asked Questions

Send a referral from your doctor to Lung and Sleep by email on info@lungandsleep.com.au. This way we can review your referral with our doctors and contact you with the most appropriate appointment for you.

Yes, to see a lung and sleep specialist you need a referral. This is so that we can get you a medicare rebate. A referral from your doctor also helps our specialist understand how they can help you and provides some background information such as your medications and other health issues you may have had in the past.

You do not need a referral to see a physiotherapist.

You need a referral from your doctor to arrange a lung function test. If you make an appointment with one of our doctors, we can arrange your lung function test for you. 

A lung function test is a part your respiratory assessment. If you are seeing one of our specialists for a breathing, respiratory or lung problem, it is best that you have a lung function test prior to your appointment so that the doctor has the result. We can arrange this for you.

Brain waves, heart rhythm, muscular activity, breathing, oxygen levels, chest & abdomen movement, leg movement, snoring, body position.

Hospital based sleep studies are more accurate because they monitor your sleep in more detail. They can also be used to check if your CPAP is adequately treating your sleep apnoea.

Home based sleep studies are great to confirm that you have sleep apnoea before going onto treatment. However, high quality home based studies such as performed by Sleep Life Balance, are very close to the quality of hospital studies.

Beware of cheap home based studies which even sometimes require the patient to apply the monitors themselves. These may be poor quality and only used to try and sell you a CPAP machine. Consult your doctor for advice before having a sleep study. We can help you ensure your sleep study is appropriate and not a waste of time and not going to result in buying an expensive and unnecessary CPAP machine!

Each appointment for set up takes 30 minutes to complete.

The technician will apply the sleep study monitoring equipment to your body. All sensors stick to the skin with no pain.

Yes, this is encouraged.

Yes.

Bronchoscopy is when the doctor puts a camera into your lungs while you are asleep under anaesthetic. This is to help determine the cause of your symptoms such as cough or to biopsy an abnormality in your lungs. You can see a video of Barton Jennings explaining the procedure here – Bronchoscopy introduction video

No. Due to the anaesthetic, patients require a family member or friend to drive them home.

Pyjamas or loose comfortable clothing. No nudity. A jacket is advised to place over the top of equipment in winter. Ladies are advised to remove nail polish/acrylic nails from ring finger prior to study. Men are advised to have a clean shave or trimmed beard. This is to allow better connection of sensors.