Question about DME

I was at my Cardiologist appointment yesterday and had some time waiting for the doctor to do his thing. So I started talking to the people in the room with me and started complaining about the disconnect between the patient and the medical community. Related to cpap. They thought that some of the problem is that most dme's are in retail, and most of them don't have an RT on site. How many of you that are on cpap deal with an RT vs DME.
Makes sense to me. Could it be that simple. I have only dealt with a dme. the one gal I was talking to thought that only about 25% stick it out with xpap. 3 of the 4 in the room had expierence in one form or another with cpap.

Some states (and possibly Medicare) have a law requiring an RT to be involved with the DME at some level. Whether you will come directly in contact with one is another question. They may just be a consultant to the DME or they may have direct care duties.

Some RT's are awesome, while others toe their company line, making sure you get the cheapest equipment and the least amount of their time to maximize profit for the employer. So having an RT on staff won't necessarily make a difference. Some RT's insist that their employer provide quality equipment and service--that's more frequently seen in small, local DME's which are dying out quickly because of Medicare Competitive Bidding.

I think that while Medicare requires there be an RT on staff, they don't PAY for that (the RT cannot bill Medicare for services provided). That's one of the reasons Medicare reimbursement for CPAP is higher than the retail cost online, the DME's costs are higher if they are required to provide an RT.

My sleep doctor recommended a specific DME because of on tech, who left shortly after setting me up and before I had finished needing help.

Since then I have relied on boards and friends not the medical community, which is quite scary. I came very close to quitting (FFM claustrophobia) after 3 weeks - until an old work colleague pointed me towards sinus rinsing as a way out. Not surprised if a lot of folks fail to get traction.

When we have questions about mask type, claustrophobia type issues - who is supposed to be our support?

Come to the "group"
Group therapy works better than the professional network in SO many cases.
There is always the possibility that the paid professional has priorities above the patient;
(---publishing, chalet, Swiss bank account, ego, etc.)
Until professional societies emphasize quality treatment rather than individual perks,
there will always be the suspicion, if not the fact.