Unfortunately many primary care physicians do not have enough information in their general arsenal about sleep disorders. And for many patients, the primary care physician is the first person they see when experiencing sleep issues.
The Hypersomnia Foundation is attending a great number of family physician conferences with the sole purpose of providing them information about sleep disorders, what kind of sleep study they need to recommend for their patients, and to not automatically default to a "depression" diagnosis. They have been able to add hundreds of physicians across the country to their mailing list and are providing their offices with brochures, research materials, informational handouts, etc.
They are also attending nursing and school counselor conferences educating them on what to look for if you have a sleepy patient, because this patient just might have a sleeping disorder.
