Sleep & Respiratory
Sleeping and respiratory care are essential for your health. Sleeping well can improve your mood, memory, immunity, and overall well-being. Respiratory care can help you breathe better, prevent infections, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition that affects your breathing while you sleep. It can cause you to stop breathing for short periods of time, which lowers your oxygen levels and disrupts your sleep quality. There are different types of sleep apnea, but the most common one is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This happens when your throat muscles relax and block your airway. Some symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring, daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, and dry mouth. Sleep apnea can increase your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, and other health issues. It is important to get diagnosed and treated for sleep apnea if you have it.
How Does a PAP Device Help?
A PAP device is a treatment for sleep apnea, a condition that causes breathing interruptions during sleep. A PAP device delivers pressurized air through a mask to keep your airways open while you sleep. This can improve your sleep quality, reduce snoring, lower your risk of heart problems and boost your mood. There are different types of PAP devices, such as CPAP, BiPAP and EPAP, depending on your needs and preferences. To get a PAP device, you need a prescription, and usually a recent sleep study, from your healthcare provider.
PAP Timeline
Once your PAP order is processed, our fulfillment and scheduling team will reach out to schedule your preferred PAP setup experience. MedCare offers both in-person guided instruction and consultation at any of our Sleepworks clinics, and community sleep clinics, as well as telehealth setups with direct-to-home PAP delivery, preset to your prescription.
During your scheduled instruction, one of our highly skilled Respiratory Therapists will work with you one-on-one to go over the following:
- Overall Machine Setup, & Maintenance
- Mask Fitment & Cleaning
- Resupply Schedule
- Compliancy
- General Q&A
If you have any issues or questions before, during, or after your initial setup please reach out to us at (724) 689-1576 to speak with our respiratory team.
The compliancy period with your new PAP device is the most crucial period in your sleep journey. During this period your usage, sleep quality, and overall experience will be monitored by your PAP device and reported back to our Respiratory Therapists, Sleep Coaches, and your physician.
This data is used for both your insurance provider, to confirm usage, as well as to make sure you’re getting the most out of your PAP device. Generally, this compliancy period lasts 90 days, and requires a minimum of 4 hours of PAP usage per night. For specifics for your insurance provider please contact them directly or our customer service team.
During this period our Sleep Coaches are available to help you get comfortable with your device, work through any issues you are having, and can schedule you additional time with one of our Respiratory Therapists if needed. They will also reach out to you directly during the compliancy process to see how you’re doing, or if you’re not meeting the minimum compliance requirements for your insurance.
You may also review your sleep data yourself using your machine manufacturers app on your mobile device! Below are the most common.
Respironics DreamMapper (iOS / Android)
We also have helpful documentation for your equipment available within our Learning Hub
Even though your compliance period has ended, there’s still a lot of work to be done! Your ongoing sleep journey is one we want to be a part of. We offer multiple services to make sure sleep therapy as easy as possible.
- Our proactive Resupply Program, to make sure you have fresh supplies when you need them. (more information below)
- Access to our Respiratory Therapists for follow up questions, mask changes, machine setting changes, and more.
- PAP repair & maintenance via our repair department.
MedCare Resupply Program
MedCare offers a robust resupply program to make sure you always have the supplies you need to have the best night’s sleep possible. We offer proactive resupply reminders, via phone, email, and text. You can select the products you need and remove the ones you don’t. Saving you time, money, and hassle.
You can also call in for resupply anytime at (855) 730-1766
Recommended PAP Resupply Schedule
| Twice a Month | Monthly | Every 3 Months | Every 6 Months |
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Other Respiratory Services
MedCare also offers the following additional respiratory services, for complete coverage of your respiratory needs. For more information on any of these services, please contact us.
Oxygen
Nebulizers
Ventilators
Tracheostomy
Apnea Monitors
Continuous Pulse Ox’s
Compressors
