RESMED gone wild - u need prescription to buy RESMED's mask

cpapernewbie · Post by **cpapernewbie** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 8:34 pm

if you browse through this long long thread, read the posts by ECHO

It seems that some masks are registered as "needing prescription" to FDA, some masks are not

Masks by the major manufacturer ResMed and Respironics are all PRESCRIPTION only masks

sorry to disappoint you but that's what we found so far

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 12:42 pm

What you said doesn't disappoint me at all, as I said it would be easy to prove that those companies were using the gov. to rate them as needing a script for the sole purpose of price fixing. The attorney generals office could easy prove it was being done to fix prices, & price fixing is still illegal.

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:43 pm

It's illegal for companies to plan together to set prices on a given commodity. It is not illegal for an individual company to set fixed or minimum prices on its goods.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:17 am

JimW is correct. This is the result of a US Supreme Court decision made just this year, w/in the last 3 months if I remember correctly. Another decision to bolster big business and against the best interests of the average American.

cpapernewbie · Post by **cpapernewbie** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:48 am

so, where is the consumer protection side of this regulation?

1. you are not suppose to selll 1 mask, it is a prescription product (but there are who sold hundreds on e-Bay and can do it in the past)

2) you are not allowed to buy software to track your progress or lack of progress

3) if you are not happy with a mask, you have to visit your doctor to get another prescription to get another mask

same with humidifier, mash cushion, headgrear and chinstrap?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:26 pm

It still seems to me that different companies are only getting there mask stated as needing a script. In order to fix the price. Would`nt it be easy to prove the stated mask do not & should not require a script, and that these said companies are doing this to fix prices(as in collusion with each other). Or are you saying that the mask really do need to be controlled??
Is it the gov. that decides if something requires a script, or is it the manufacturer??
Are you saying someone in the gov. is getting some-kind of kickback??
Or is this left solely to the discretion of the companies??

jumpedthegun · Post by **jumpedthegun** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:06 pm

Anonymous wrote:Would`nt it be easy to prove the stated mask do not & should not require a script, and that these said companies are doing this to fix prices(as in collusion with each other).

If its so easy where's your proof then!

Oh, I forgot, proof being easy is just an ambit claim for any hare-brained conspiracy theory!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:29 pm

Jumpedthegun,

What the heck are you going on about? What special features about a cpap mask require it to be a prescription item???

I've been through 2 sleep docs and 2 different RTs at my dme. They know absolutely nothing about the different masks. Nothing! Well, ok, they know there are full face masks and nasal masks and that is the extent of it.

My crazy, paranoid, dellusional, conspiracy addled brain tells me sleep docs aren't qualified to write prescriptions for cpap masks.

I'm so sick of this drivel about need our sleep docs to make every decision for us. They understand a lot about OSA but understand little about living with cpap.

This system doesn't work. As it is constructed it is an impediment to the average user finding a mask that works. You want us to pretend that the manufacturers are attempting to restrict on line sales for our safety, - our benefit? Insert sound of loud rasberry here.

cpapernewbie · Post by **cpapernewbie** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 1:21 pm

If many medical doctors are not knowledgable on CPAP masks - what is the value of a mask prescription?

Most of us here get our most suitable CPAP masks by trial and eroor, not through prescription.

Anybody get their 'right" mask just once through your doctor's prescription?

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 1:34 pm

Say what? Of course not!! At least my sleep doc was smart enough to script "mask of patient's choice". I couldn't blame it on him - or even the DME's not so bright RT - that the Swift I didn't work out for me. *sigh*

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 2:52 pm

If a doctor doesn't know anything about cpap masks, why would I need a prescription from that doctor for a mask?

How foolish that we are being required to provide a prescription for such a harmless non invasive item and that that prescription states "give this patient whatever mask they need or want."

Doesn't this get in the way of trying different masks?

This item should never have been defined as needing a prescription.

cpapernewbie · Post by **cpapernewbie** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 3:04 pm

we might as well declare those who participate in the mask roulette as "drug dealers"

The police should haul all of them to jail

TalonNYC · Post by **TalonNYC** » Mon May 23, 2011 9:48 am

I suspect there may be other things at play.

Here in the US, many pharmaceuticals that can be sold over the counter are by Rx only within their first 10 years on the market. This is because the company can only hold the patent if the medicine is Rx only. If they sell the pill over the counter, anyone else is permitted to make and sell a generic version. There are some limited loopholes for OTC drug sales, but exclusivity becomes MUCH easier if you offer it Rx only.

That's why Advil, Allegra, Zyrtec and tons of other "Rx Only" medications go over the counter in "full Rx strength" about 10 years after they hit the market. The patent expires, there's no longer any reason to keep them Rx only, so over the counter they go.

It's possible that a wide-reaching reading of the patent law could mean that if ResMed and Respironics patent their mask designs as medical equipment, then make them Rx only, competitors will be unable to create "generic" versions (or copy-cat versions) of those masks for a longer period of time than if they offer them without Rx

I'm of mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, patents and exclusive sale periods are what drives manufacturers to discover new and better things (since they will have a period of time where they will be the only ones who can sell them). On the other hand, Rx only means they can also set prices arbitrarily.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:18 am

Like what drug was it just recently where the patent had expired and it ran about $20 a shot or so, was used off-label to assist pregnant women maintaining their difficult pregnancies and improving the neonates lung function faster? So the manufacturer did the clinical trials (using a lot of off-label use results) to get it FDA approved for maintaining pregnancy and once approval was granted shot the charge per shot up to $4,000 each!!!! I may not be remembering this exactly right but I'm not that far off either for use(s) or price(s). I think I read about it at MedPage.

TalonNYC · Post by **TalonNYC** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:30 am

Sliky, that's it exactly, by re-classifying the drug, they were able to extend the patent on it. That meant they can charge whatever they want, AND that their competitors cannot make generic branded versions of it. However, if the system wasn't in place, the drug company wouldn't have had incentive to test the drug to prove that it can be used for that purpose. Granted, they horrifically abused the system this time (and do so often) but there is at least some good that comes out of it.

RESMED gone wild - u need prescription to buy RESMED's mask

Is it RESMED?

Re: RESMED gone wild - u need prescription to buy RESMED's mask

Re: RESMED gone wild - u need prescription to buy RESMED's mask

Re: RESMED gone wild - u need prescription to buy RESMED's mask