DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

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chunkyfrog
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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by chunkyfrog » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:55 pm

They make RFID shields for credit cards and passports; the aluminum is thicker than foil.
Here is an interesting Instructable:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a- ... /?ALLSTEPS
If someone has access to testing equipment, it might be good to see how well this works;
and if the material can be applied to shielding a cell modem--or other materials.
I have found that the Low-E glass in our new windows blocks the signal to my satellite radio.
Google "EMF" for a full discussion of what is or is not "emf".

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by palerider » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:58 pm

chunkyfrog wrote: Google "EMF" for a full discussion of what is or is not "emf".
EMF are an electronic rock band from Cinderford, Gloucestershire. They came ...

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by Tatooed Lady » Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:06 pm

I'm so lost, but I'm cracking up....silly people...*I* wear the tinfoil cap, not my APAP machine!!
I am giving the DME ONE more chance to make good on the "hands the hell out of my settings". If they stay where they should, I'll leave the modem on. Otherwise...game on.
Just got my shipments of supplies from cpap.com. It's like Christmas for old people, what with all the medical stuff. So far, the P10 bugs me...and the Quattro for her seems comfy. I have 3 days home time to try it all out, how exciting. Obviously, I need a hobby.

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by palerider » Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:16 pm

Tatooed Lady wrote:I'm so lost, but I'm cracking up....silly people...*I* wear the tinfoil cap, not my APAP machine!!
so, what you're saying is that what's good enough for you is too good for your apap?

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by 4betterO2 » Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:44 pm

Tatooed Lady wrote: If they stay where they should, I'll leave the modem on. Otherwise...game on.
.
I haven't seen anyone as yet suggest you unplug the modem, is that what you plan to do if the DME interferes again with your settings?
That's what I would do if I were in this situation, it is easy to unplug it and you could plug it in back once every 90 days if that is when they require the compliance data? I forgot how now, but there is somewhere you can push a button or setting to make it connect and send the data proactively instead of leaving it on for it to "dial out" when it wants to (on its own 2G/3G network) and send the data. If you send manually, then you can unplug it after, until the next compliance-check date due.

BTW you were mentioning having to convince your DME that they had changed your settings, you can prove that easily as it is noted in the software, I'm not sure if it is in SleepyHead or in the Respironics software, but it mentions the date the prescription (i.e. the pressure settings) was changed.

I know that many forum users change their own settings themselves, and this was indeed a great source of hope for me while I was waiting for my rent-to-own period to be over so I could get the freedom to change them too. I was under modem "surveillance" for the first 60 days and could not stand it, it would dial out at least once every 24 hours... I can really sympathize with you for being upset at having to keep a modem on all the time for your insurance!

However, it is costing them expensive 2G/3G network fees as your modem dials on its phone as if it was a simple cell phone of its own. So I cannot see why your insurance wants to pay these monthly wireless plan fees, except that if you are a CDL licensed driver, then you may have legal requirements that the insurance has to make sure you comply with, and to which they are a party?
(sorry this is serious stuff that is a far cry from the funny stuff I've enjoyed reading on this thread... but keep strong and hoping)
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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by archangle » Sat Jul 26, 2014 12:40 am

One solution would be to occasionally plug the modem back in, give it long enough to send data to the DME for compliance purposes. Does your modem require you to push a button? Then remove the modem, and check your settings.

If you get Encore basic, you can program your settings into an SD card, and "lock" it with the Encore program. After that, every time you put that particular SD card into the machine, it will reprogram the settings.

I'm not sure who wins if the "locked" SD card and the modem disagree over the correct settings, though.

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by Tatooed Lady » Sat Jul 26, 2014 6:49 am

According to the DME, the change may have been caused BY the modem! when I had to push the side button to send. The problem with removing the modem and putting it back once per week, month, etc...is that, as I understand from the DME, once the unit misses a call, it won't go and call the next day. It shuts down or something really useful like that. And then we get back to the whole "push the button on the modem" thing again.

I don't have Encore basic, and as interested as I am in checking it out, I'm not interested enough to pay $100 for something I probably won't like as well as SH. It would be nice to compare the two.

I told the DME that SH keeps track of my settings, and that's how I was able to verify exactly when the change went into effect.

Pale rider, I shall make two tinfoil caps. Identical, but one a micro for my modem. Dang aliens.

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by Pugsy » Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:11 am

Tatooed Lady wrote:I don't have Encore basic, and as interested as I am in checking it out, I'm not interested enough to pay $100 for something I probably won't like as well as SH. It would be nice to compare the two.
Encore Viewer is the patient version of Encore and that's the version that costs $100.
Basic is a DME/doctor version that doesn't use the troublesome SQL database thing that Pro uses which causes so many problems for Windows users.
The reports for any of the Encore versions (Viewer, Basic or Pro) are all the same though. Pro allows for more wave form graph availability for old days but that's about it in terms of advantage.
Used to be that Basic was much smaller in size and ran much faster than Pro but the latest 2.4 version is much larger and is about as fast as a turtle with 2 broken legs.

Check your PM box. I sent you some information on Basic...if you want to try Pro just let me know.

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by robysue » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:54 am

Tatooed Lady wrote:According to the DME, the change may have been caused BY the modem! when I had to push the side button to send.
Classic "Blame the Patient."

Really: If the simple act of pushing a side button on the modem is enough to change the settings on a piece of medical equipment, then the modem is NOT ready for distribution as medical equipment monitoring device. If pushing that side button really is responsible for changing the pressure setting, then the DME ought to be be reporting the problem immediately to the manufacturer and telling the manufacturer that they are unwilling to set patients up with modems because one of the standard operating instructions for the equipment led to an unauthorized change in therapy settings for one of their patients.

But my guess is that things are a lot more simple: I think the DME just doesn't want to admit anything here for fear of liability issues. I'm willing to believe they didn't "change" the settings on purpose---in other words, I'm perfectly willing to believe that the program at the download end of things (i.e. the program the DME is using to read the data) noticed the change in script and "corrected" it back to whatever had been entered as the script in your profile in the DME's database. (And I personally think that part of the SOFTWARE should be changed; I strongly feel as though NO "automatic" changes to the therapy settings should be possible since it leaves the patient totally out of the loop when it comes to decisions about their own medical treatment.)

I'm willing to believe the DME is so ignorant of the software that they are NOT aware of that the program they're using compares the settings and then automatically "corrects" them without asking for confirmation from a live human being.

But I'm not willing to excuse that ignorance: It's the DME's responsibility to understand the full power of the program(s) they use for monitoring compliance. And "Blame the Patient" for pushing a button clearly indicates they don't.
The problem with removing the modem and putting it back once per week, month, etc...is that, as I understand from the DME, once the unit misses a call, it won't go and call the next day. It shuts down or something really useful like that. And then we get back to the whole "push the button on the modem" thing again.
Personally I think your first response was the correct one: If I were in your shoes, I would tell the DME I am NOT comfortable with a modem that may change my pressures simply because I press a button on the side of the device. And and that I are happy to bring in the SD card for compliance checks, but I am NOT willing to have my compliance monitored by a modem with a "defective" design that allows my settings to be changed without my prior knowledge and approval.

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by chunkyfrog » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:57 am

Robysue: +1000

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by JustTia » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:18 am

chunkyfrog wrote:Robysue: +1000
+1000 more

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by BlackSpinner » Sat Jul 26, 2014 9:40 am

Tatooed Lady wrote:According to the DME, the change may have been caused BY the modem! when I had to push the side button to send. The problem with removing the modem and putting it back once per week, month, etc...is that, as I understand from the DME, once the unit misses a call, it won't go and call the next day. It shuts down or something really useful like that. And then we get back to the whole "push the button on the modem" thing again.
Only due to the fact that the modem connected and the data was sent to it. I doubt very very much that the modem itself was programmed with the settings, all modems do is dial and connect. The software at the other end does all the work of uploading the data, checking the settings and changing anything required. Anything on the modem would mean every single modem would have to be updated when things changed. It is much cheaper to have a dumb modem. I doubt the things have much in the way of security on them too.

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by Demerit » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:10 am

Roby sue: the Dme I run does all the things you mentioned on your soap box and yes it a branch of one the "big box" dme's that gets slammed I here.

When a patient calls on the phone with an issue, it is great to be able to pull up the data and have a candid conversation about what is going on and tips to fix it. Not every single patient has the time or is able to come in for an appointment when they have a leak show up on their unit or something that is fixable by phone.

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by poppi2 » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:53 am

Demerit wrote:... When a patient calls on the phone with an issue, it is great to be able to pull up the data and have a candid conversation about what is going on and tips to fix it. Not every single patient has the time or is able to come in for an appointment when they have a leak show up on their unit or something that is fixable by phone.
It sounds like you try to do your job correctly. Hopefully, your customers appreciate what you are able to do. I could have used such service in my early days of CPAP hell. Unfortunately, I was dispensed a brick. Do you dispense only full-data machines? Earl

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Re: DME just remotely fiddled with my settings...grrrr!

Post by palerider » Sat Jul 26, 2014 12:24 pm

archangle wrote:One solution would be to occasionally plug the modem back in, give it long enough to send data to the DME for compliance purposes. Does your modem require you to push a button? Then remove the modem, and check your settings.

If you get Encore basic, you can program your settings into an SD card, and "lock" it with the Encore program. After that, every time you put that particular SD card into the machine, it will reprogram the settings.

I'm not sure who wins if the "locked" SD card and the modem disagree over the correct settings, though.
my *guess* is that the modem would change the settings on the sd card... so if you had the card out, when you did the modem bit, popping the sd card in would reset things.

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