The talk of whether a wifi/wireless connection between the CPAP and the user's home network on a couple of other threads got me to thinking in paranoia mode:
We already know that the CPAP manufacturers do NOT regard us---the actual users of their machines---as their customers. Unlike major drug manufacturers, scooter chair makers, lift chair makers, manufacturers of diabetes blood glucose monitoring test supplies, the CPAP manufacturers do no mass marketing advertising to patients telling them to request an S9 Autoset or a PR System One APAP or a F&P Icon+ Auto with Senseawake. As the "advertising material" on their webs make it clear, the CPAP makers regard the DMEs and sleep docs as their customers instead of us.
And what happens if they decide to use wireless monitoring as the default way of recording data---both basic usage data and efficacy data? Suppose for a minute that the Resmed S10 (or the PR System One Series 70 or the F&P Icon ++) is released with no data card slot and that Resmed (PR or F&P) adds the following kind of language to the advertising aimed at DMEs and sleep docs:
- Why bother with local copies of ResScan and all the other proprietary software that you currently need to maintain and train your staff on in order to track usage and other data?
If you set your customers up with the new S10 with integrated wireless/wifi connection, every morning the data will be uploaded directly to a centralized location at Resmed. We'll analyze the data for you and flag any patients whom you need to contact for follow-up concerning lack of compliance. We'll send your choice of daily/weekly/monthly lists of how each of your patients are doing in terms of compliance. You will never have to phone patients reminding them that it's time to send the SD card back to you---compliance checking will be done automatically every morning through the web. The CPAP machine will contact the Resmed server every morning even if the patient failed to use the machine that night.
If there is a need to track efficacy data as well as compliance data, set your patients up with the S10 Elite or the S10 Autoset. The integrated wireless connection will upload all the data to our server for detailed analysis. Patients with problem areas in terms of excessive leaks or long term AHI > 5.0 will be flagged and we will send you the names and a brief description of their problems when we send you your daily/weekly/monthly report.
If you wish to monitor your patients' data more carefully, we will also provide your office up with a secure log in to our centralized database so that you can directly access the data for all your patients through the web browser of your choice. This will allow your office to see, analyze and print out the data that is currently available in ResScan whenever you need to without the need for the patient to bring in his/her SD card. And should the prescribing physician decide that the therapy settings for a patient need to be changed after analyzing the on-line data, the changes to the therapy settings can be submitted on-line and our server will immediately contact the patient's CPAP machine through its wireless modem and implement the changes immediately. You will no longer need to ask the patient to bring his/her machine in just to change the settings.
Please note that in order to obtain a secure login on our database server, you will need to contact your Resmed representative. S/he will inform you of what necessary information you need to provide to us in order for your practice/business to obtain a secure login to our site.
My question for the group: How far-fetched does this scenario seem to you?