Sleeper hit: SleepQuest finds success at home

SAN CARLOS, Calif. - While home sleep testing hasn't been quite the boon many believed that it would be, provider Robert Koenigsberg says his sales are up 30% this year.

"You hear in certain circles that (home testing) hasn't caught on," said Koenigsberg, president and CEO of SleepQuest. "But if you look at companies like us, we are doing quite well because there is an audience of insurers and physicians (who believe in it) and there is a tremendous unmet need."

To that end, the 15-year-old company recently launched a patient-centric website, mysleepquest.com, that will put information and, when necessary, sleep studies in patients' hands.

"We felt with the changes in health care and the movement to the patient home, this is going to fit in nicely," said Koenigsberg. "We did this to give access to the millions of people that have apnea to be able to go through the process with us online."

A visitor to the site can take a free clinical sleep assessment to determine whether he or she is a candidate for a home sleep test. If they are, SleepQuest sends an HST device with instructions to the patient. Once the study is completed, the data is scored and interpreted by a certified sleep physician. Patients can verify insurance eligibility, reorder supplies or obtain support via an online account, by phone or by fax. The site also includes links to videos, news stories and clinical studies on sleep disordered breathing and related issues.

While the new site allows SleepQuest, which has four field offices in California, to grow its national reach, the company remains committed to its patients.

"We spend a lot of time working with patients that are having difficulties with compliance," said Koenigsberg. "We provide a lot of coaching to get them well. Sleep is really where our focus is."