How to Find Sleep Medicine Doctors by Zip Code
Data sourced from live CMS NPI Registry API v2.1 queries, run June 13, 2026. All provider counts are real API responses, not estimates. Raw query results are available for download. Memphis and Vermont raw dumps: Memphis raw, Vermont raw. See methodology below.
taxonomy_description=Sleep+Medicine. That single string returns sleep physicians from all six parent training paths — Internal Medicine, Pulmonology, Psychiatry & Neurology, Otolaryngology, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and Anesthesiology. The critical split for call planning: ENT-trained sleep physicians (Otolaryngology parent) perform surgical procedures and do not prescribe CPAP — a CPAP or PAP-supply rep needs to know which providers are in which group before making calls.
Sleep Disorders, Sleep Doctor, or Sleep Specialist in the NPI API returns zero results. Those are clinical terms and informal labels, not NUCC taxonomy strings. The only recognized filter is taxonomy_description=Sleep+Medicine. All three failing variants were confirmed live on June 13, 2026.
Sleep medicine in the NPI registry: real counts from 9 markets
We queried the CMS NPI API v2.1 directly on June 13, 2026 for taxonomy_description=Sleep+Medicine
across nine representative markets. The API returns a maximum of 200 records per response; none of the
markets below hit the cap, so all counts are complete.
| Market | Query scope | NPI records returned | At 200-record cap? |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | City filter | 122 | No (complete) |
| Chicago, IL | City filter | 172 | No (complete) |
| Houston, TX | City filter | 159 | No (complete) |
| Los Angeles, CA | City filter | 98 | No (complete) |
| Phoenix, AZ | City filter | 60 | No (complete) |
| Nashville, TN | City filter | 44 | No (complete) |
| Memphis, TN | City filter | 31 | No (complete) |
| Vermont (statewide) | State filter | 18 | No (complete) |
| Wyoming (statewide) | State filter | 13 | No (complete) |
Source: CMS NPI Registry API v2.1, taxonomy_description=Sleep+Medicine, limit=200. Queried June 13, 2026. Counts include both individual providers (NPI-1) and organization records (NPI-2).
The CPAP/DME angle vs. the ENT surgical angle: two different call lists
Sleep medicine is a multi-parent specialty — the same Sleep+Medicine query returns physicians
from six different training paths who practice very differently. A DME or CPAP rep and a surgical-device
rep should segment the list before calling.
Entity breakdown: predominantly NPI-1 (individual physicians) with a few NPI-2 (sleep lab organizations)
Primary taxonomy breakdown from raw dump:
• Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine: 10 — prescribers of CPAP, PAP therapy, oral appliances, sleep medications
• Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease: 8 — dual-certified pulmonologists with sleep med as secondary; split prescribers
• Internal Medicine, Critical Care Medicine: 8 — critical care physicians with sleep medicine secondary credential
• Psychiatry & Neurology, Sleep Medicine: 1 — insomnia/parasomnias/PLMD focus
• Pediatrics, Sleep Medicine: 1 — pediatric sleep (apnea, parasomnias in children)
• Other (Hospitalist, pure Internal Medicine): 3
Credentials: all MD or M.D. in this Memphis pull
Note: No Otolaryngology Sleep Medicine records appeared in Memphis city filter — ENT sleep surgeons in the metro may bill under suburban or regional addresses outside the city filter.
Sleep medicine parent-specialty taxonomy variants
The following taxonomy strings appear in actual NPI records. The CMS API's Sleep+Medicine
substring match captures all of them in one query.
| Parent training path | NPI taxonomy_description (confirmed) |
Call planning relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | Internal Medicine, Sleep Medicine |
Primary CPAP/PAP prescribers; DME and pharmaceutical targets |
| Psychiatry & Neurology | Psychiatry & Neurology, Sleep Medicine |
Insomnia, narcolepsy, PLMD, parasomnias — orexin antagonists, behavioral sleep medicine |
| Otolaryngology | Otolaryngology, Sleep Medicine |
Surgical: UPPP, hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS), DISE — does not prescribe CPAP |
| Pediatrics | Pediatrics, Sleep Medicine |
Pediatric apnea, restless legs, parasomnias — concentrated at children's hospitals |
| Family Medicine | Family Medicine, Sleep Medicine |
Community-based sleep medicine; initial diagnosis, CPAP prescribing, referrals |
| Anesthesiology | Anesthesiology, Sleep Medicine |
Peri-operative sleep apnea assessment; uncommon in outpatient sleep practice |
Taxonomy strings confirmed via Vermont and Memphis raw NPI API dumps, June 13, 2026.
How to search sleep medicine doctors step by step
Open the NPI registry or getdork
Navigate to npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov or open the Physician Search tool at getdork.com.
Enter the correct taxonomy string
Use taxonomy_description=Sleep+Medicine. This captures physicians from all parent specialties. In getdork, select "Sleep Medicine" from the specialty dropdown.
Set your zip code and radius
Enter your territory zip. Sleep medicine practices are hospital-affiliated or co-located with pulmonology groups. 25 miles for mid-size metros; 50–75 miles in rural markets. Wyoming statewide = 13 records — the entire state is a manageable list.
Tag by training path in your CRM
Use the taxonomy description field to separate ENT-trained sleep surgeons (Otolaryngology parent) from CPAP-prescribing internists (Internal Medicine parent). These are different conversations with different products.
Export to CSV (Pro)
Pro users export the full result as a CRM-ready CSV. The taxonomy description column carries the parent-path split into your import — use it to route calls without manual re-tagging.
Radius guidance for sleep medicine territories
| Market type | Recommended radius | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Dense urban (NYC, Chicago, Houston) | 10–20 miles | 122–172 records per city — territory management requires tighter radius |
| Mid-size metro (Memphis, Nashville, Phoenix) | 25–35 miles | 31–60 records — city filter covers most; suburb addresses may add more |
| Rural (Vermont, Wyoming) | 50–75 miles or statewide | 13–18 statewide; one query covers the entire state |
getdork.com queries the live NPI registry with
Sleep+Medicine and handles Haversine radius filtering across ZIP codes. Results include NPI number, name, credential, practice address, phone, and taxonomy description — use the taxonomy description to split surgical vs. non-surgical providers before exporting to your CRM.
Frequently asked questions
Why do 'Sleep Disorders' and 'Sleep Doctor' return zero results in the NPI registry?
"Sleep Disorders" is a clinical diagnostic category (from ICD and DSM), not a NUCC provider taxonomy. "Sleep Doctor" is informal. The CMS NPI taxonomy system uses "Sleep Medicine" as the subspecialty label. We confirmed both failing terms return zero via live API query on June 13, 2026. The only working filter is taxonomy_description=Sleep+Medicine.
Do ENT-trained sleep physicians prescribe CPAP devices?
Generally no. Otolaryngologists who completed a sleep medicine fellowship primarily evaluate patients for surgical treatment of sleep apnea: UPPP, tongue-base procedures, and hypoglossal nerve stimulators. A CPAP/PAP device rep's call list should focus on Internal Medicine Sleep Medicine, Family Medicine Sleep Medicine, Pulmonology Sleep Medicine, and Psychiatry & Neurology Sleep Medicine providers. A surgical-device rep targeting HNS implants should prioritize the Otolaryngology Sleep Medicine subset.
What does a Memphis sleep medicine call list actually contain?
Our June 2026 Memphis query returned 31 records, but only 10 had primary sleep medicine taxonomies (Internal Medicine Sleep Medicine). The remaining 21 records had Pulmonary Disease or Critical Care Medicine as their primary taxonomy with sleep medicine as a secondary credential — real dual-board-certified physicians, but primarily practicing as pulmonologists or intensivists. Know this when sizing your territory: the dedicated sleep medicine practice count in Memphis is roughly 10, not 31.
How many sleep medicine physicians are there in Vermont statewide?
Vermont returned 18 sleep medicine records statewide in our June 2026 query — the complete list. Of those, 6 were Internal Medicine Sleep Medicine, 2 Psychiatry & Neurology Sleep Medicine, 2 Pediatric Pulmonology (overlap), 1 Otolaryngology, and the rest were general practice or trainees. Vermont is a thin market; a 50-mile radius query may return more records if providers' billing addresses cross the New Hampshire or New York border.
Why does a Sleep Medicine query also return pulmonologists and critical care physicians?
Because the NPI API returns records where "Sleep Medicine" appears anywhere in the provider's taxonomy list — not necessarily as the primary taxonomy. Many pulmonologists hold dual board certification in sleep medicine and list both taxonomies. In Memphis, 8 of 31 records had primary taxonomy "Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease" and 8 had "Internal Medicine, Critical Care Medicine" with sleep medicine as secondary. Filter to records where the primary taxonomy description contains "Sleep Medicine" for a list of dedicated sleep practices.
Is there a separate NPI taxonomy for pediatric sleep medicine?
Yes — "Pediatrics, Sleep Medicine" appears in NPI records as a distinct taxonomy. It is uncommon: Memphis returned 1 pediatric sleep record and Vermont returned 1. Pediatric sleep medicine physicians manage apnea, restless legs, and parasomnias in children and are concentrated at academic children's hospitals. A standard Sleep Medicine query includes them automatically — no separate query needed — but plan for single-digit counts in most markets.
Methodology
All data was retrieved live from the CMS NPI Registry API v2.1
(https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/api/?version=2.1) on June 13, 2026.
The PowerShell script used to generate market counts is
available for download, along with the
full JSON results file,
the Memphis raw dump,
and the Vermont raw dump.
The API returns a maximum of 200 records per request. No market in this specialty hit the cap. Taxonomy strings were confirmed via live NPI records — not from NUCC documentation alone.