FAQ and Troubleshooting - Tests at Biron

Yes, Biron offers you a sleep assessment test and accompanies you through the various steps leading to your diagnosis and, if necessary, your treatment.

Yes, your healthcare professional has to prescribe an examination for you.

Home sleep test is indicated for people at moderate or high risk of sleep apnea. This means that they have typical symptoms of the disease, such as snoring, drowsiness during the day, decreased concentration, and breathing pauses observed by those around them. The test is performed at the patient’s home, and only ventilatory parameters are measured and evaluated. However, depending on the severity of the symptoms and clinical context, a negative test may be followed by laboratory polysomnography or a pneumology consultation.

A sleep study in a laboratory, also called “polysomnography,” is performed for patients with an uncertain diagnosis of sleep apnea or for whom another sleep disorder (e.g., narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, sleep behaviour abnormalities) is suspected. This test should also be preferred if there is a history of insomnia, a mild risk of sleep apnea or significant daytime drowsiness, or if the patient is female, not obese or elderly. The test, supervised by a health care professional, is performed in a sleep laboratory. It measures and evaluates ventilatory parameters, the quality of sleep, periodic leg movements, behavioural disorders during REM sleep (i.e., while dreaming) and bruxism (teeth grinding).

Section 136 of the Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting medical laboratories, organ and tissue conservation and the disposal of human bodies provides that all work carried out by a medical biology laboratory must be carried out in response to a prescription signed by a professional empowered to sign such prescription under the Act governing the professional order to which he/she belongs.

The costs for tests are reimbursed by most group insurance plans for medical expenses. We suggest you check your insurance contract because each plan is different.

The wait for an appointment is usually very short. This wait can vary depending on whether you want your test done at home or in our laboratory. The best way to find out about appointment wait times is to contact us.

The total cost is established for each test based on which tests are specified in your prescription.