General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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ResMedUser
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by ResMedUser » Tue Feb 01, 2011 11:48 pm
Slinky wrote:ResMedUser, there actually are a few GOOD local DME providers, really and truthfully, honest injun!!!
Very few, I have had one DME that was good out of three. If the DME is totally pulmonary focused and also heavily focused on OSA, maybe. That was how my first DME was, pulmonary oriented. They did not sell much other DME stuff. Mainly just oxygen, OSA gear, breathing equipment.
The DMEs that try to cover everything to make as much money as possible, they are the ones that suck when it comes to handling OSA people. I just prefer to buy my own stuff and bypass them mostly.
Mikey
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BlackSpinner
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- Location: Edmonton Alberta
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Contact:
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by BlackSpinner » Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:07 am
The really stupid thing is that an OSA client is a repeat client. Alienate them and you could lose more then $50,000 in purchases over their lifetime.
71. The lame can ride on horseback, the one-handed drive cattle. The deaf, fight and be useful. To be blind is better than to be burnt on the pyre. No one gets good from a corpse. The Havamal
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montana user
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- Location: Helena Montana
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by montana user » Thu Feb 03, 2011 3:48 pm
Just finished my presentation.I started from scracth... Went through what sleep apnea is, how we test for it, had them try on the CPAP so they could feel it. Went great!!! They asked great questions and really want to do a good job! Thank you everyone for your help on this!! Im for hire if you want me to talk to your DME... I love to travel have a great day everyone!
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Janknitz
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by Janknitz » Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:22 pm
Interesting--How did you get a DME to even be interested in hearing about OSA and CPAP treatment from a patient's perspective?
Your post gave me one of those "AHA" moments:
I think it points to something very important. We hope RT's on DME staff know about OSA "what sleep apnea is, how we test for it," etc. but maybe the techs don't???? In other words, they don't receive much training other than "push these masks" and "this is how you turn the machine on"????? So when we go in asking for data and help adjusting, they really have no training and background in what to do???? No wonder they feel threatened by informed patients!
Scary!
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montana user
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- Location: Helena Montana
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by montana user » Tue Feb 15, 2011 8:37 pm
Janknitz wrote:Interesting--How did you get a DME to even be interested in hearing about OSA and CPAP treatment from a patient's perspective?
Your post gave me one of those "AHA" moments:
I think it points to something very important. We hope RT's on DME staff know about OSA "what sleep apnea is, how we test for it," etc. but maybe the techs don't???? In other words, they don't receive much training other than "push these masks" and "this is how you turn the machine on"????? So when we go in asking for data and help adjusting, they really have no training and background in what to do???? No wonder they feel threatened by informed patients!
Scary!
I think you are correct. The first sleep lab I worked in, we were to push as many patients through as we could. We did not have time to sit down and talk to them and answer alot of questions. Our training however, was very good. We had meetings every two weeks, and the sleep doctor would pull random sleep studies and some that we requested to be discussed to learn how to do a better job. The sleep doctor also kept us up to date on what was new and in the works. But I would say most labs probably teach the techs enough to get things started and thats about it. Can't say for sure though.
