Stuff my DME told me

[tetragon]

After seeing Pugsy's response to what my DME told me, I'm now curious about what sort of statements other DMEs make. As for what my DME told me: the main difference between the S9 Escape and the S9 Elite is auto-on/off. As for this statement's context, I was complaining about the Escape they gave me (which was subsequently replaced with my PRS1 Pro).

[jamiswolf]

Hi...
DMEs are just people. You can't assume all false statements by a DME rep are malicious. I was given an auto cpap machine with a wide setting (for titration). My RT at the DME said that anytime I was awake looking at the machine...it would read 4 (my low setting) demonstrating that she believed these machines had speed-of-light auto adjustments. She had many other misunderstandings about cpap machines, data and masks. But she tried and she meant well...she was just over her head regarding cpap understanding. So I fired them and moved on. You aren't locked in to any one supplier...
Jamis

[Gaga58]

Tetra...the one (and only one) I contacted wanted to sell me a discontinued model as a new machine! When I told them what I wanted they tried to tell me the one they were giving me was the same thing. Then when I stated it wasn't data capable they tried to tell me I couldn't read the data anyway, I'd have to have them do it...to which I replied, well, you have a good idea of what I replied. I got a blank pause and then told I'd have to go somewhere as they couldn't get the machine I wanted. Now, while I agree with Jamis these are just people and are in over their heads...should they be? I mean, seriously..if they are in the business to accomodate people with sleep disorders SHOULDN'T they know what they're talking about and attempting to sell you? If they really don't, then they need to be educated or fired, and if they do, and they're just flat out lying to folks...then they need to be shut down because that's a disgrace and should be considered illegal, or at the least insurance fraud!!

[CarpeNoctum]

Gaga,
We tend to have blinders on in the cpap world. There can be, and often is, incompetence wherever we care to look. Ever have a car dealer lie to you or distort the truth? It's the norm in that industry.

We're living in a culture in decline. We can rant and rave at poor service, poor manufacturing quality, declining infrastructure, increase in crime and dishonesty, a government we can't trust, a failing economy and so on...but it will serve no purpose.

We have to make personal choices and learn how to live in the world as it is...not the way we wish it would be.
CN

[RandyJ]

My personal favorite was when the RT looked at the compliance report from my brick: "And it says here your AHI is 0.0, so you're not having any apneas. You're doing really well."

(The machine was a brick that didn't record any data except compliance.)

[LSAT]

Gaga,
We tend to have blinders on in the cpap world. There can be, and often is, incompetence wherever we care to look. Ever have a car dealer lie to you or distort the truth? It's the norm in that industry.

We're living in a culture in decline. We can rant and rave at poor service, poor manufacturing quality, declining infrastructure, increase in crime and dishonesty, a government we can't trust, a failing economy and so on...but it will serve no purpose.

We have to make personal choices and learn how to live in the world as it is...not the way we wish it would be.
CN

You have got to be kidding!!!...The world is in terrible shape, why would ANYONE with common sense accept this?
With your attitude we will see more Detroits...(Looking back at your posts I can see that you are an idiot anyway)

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread ... Wooldridge

[JointPain]

My personal favorite was when the RT looked at the compliance report from my brick: "And it says here your AHI is 0.0, so you're not having any apneas. You're doing really well."

(The machine was a brick that didn't record any data except compliance.)

So that's why they foist bricks on to newbies: they clearly provide the best possible treatment!

[Gaga58]

Thank you LSAT...I probably wouldn't have said it quite so strongly, but... Perhaps this is the problem, we just decide to live in a world that's less than perfect and let people foist their crap equipment on us all the while smiling as they do so!! uhhhh...NO!!!

[Mary Z]

I am lucky to have a good DME. That said at least those of us on the forum learn enough not to let the DME get over on us.

[VVV]

Ever have a car dealer lie to you or distort the truth?

No. I have used the same new car dealer for all my repairs and maintenance for 33 years. Perfectly honest and highly competent.

[snuginarug]

We can rant and rave at poor service, poor manufacturing quality, declining infrastructure, increase in crime and dishonesty, a government we can't trust, a failing economy and so on...but it will serve no purpose.

While I would agree that ranting and raving by itself does not do anything useful, ACTING does. We all make personal choices, yes. My personal choice is to not lay down and give up and accept the unacceptable. We are not helpless victims that must suffer whatever is handed to us. We can insist on better. I am not talking just of DMEs and cpap supplies. The world will continue to go to hell in a hand basket as long as well all sit by, make do with what we've got and do nothing. My personal choice in this little corner of existence, choosing DMEs, is to only do business with those who can fill my needs. Just like any other product or service. Why try to convince people to accept second class?

[davelikesbeer]

When I went back for my first "follow-up" visit, they printed out a detailed report from Encore Pro. They said my compliance was less than I knew it was. They said it was something like 93% (28/30 days), when I knew it should have been 96% (29/30 days). I told them the compliance should be 96.6% because I only missed one day and they said something like "93% is still really good". When I looked at the report they printed, all the days were split as though I was sleeping a few hours, then awake for 15-16 hours, then went to sleep for more hours.

When I asked them why it was so, they said something like "It does that sometimes". Being a software engineer, I know that it was user error. But because of their ignorance on how to set the timezone in EncorePro, the last day on the report showed I only slept 3.5 hours, which is less than the required minimum in order to count as compliant. Thus accounting for the extra day I they claimed I didn't use the machine.

This not only affects compliance data, but also all the daily stats were wrong because they would be computed based on 4.5 hours from one night then 3.5 hour from the next.

This doesn't really bother me so much because I have access to my own data, but I feel bad for that person who is around 70% compliant, but has their insurance rejected for non-compliance.

I'm going to see them on Monday so they can download my data to report back to my insurance company on my BiPAP usage. Before I hand them my SD card, I will politely ask them to verify the timezone is set correctly in their software. Whether they report 96.6% or 100% to the insurance company won't make a bit of difference in coverage, however, I'd like to use this opportunity to potentially help other, less data aware, customers.

Dave.

[Janknitz]

The key is to be an educated consumer, and whenever possible, vote with your feet! Don't patronize an ignorant or clearly lying DME if you have other options. I've never understood DME's who are so willing to throw away business like us, because potentially we need a lifetime of supplies and periodic machine replacements--that's a lot of profit over time, if not in the moment.

It may not always be possible--for example, my HMO contracts with one and only one DME supplier. It's their way or the highway, and I don't have the financial resources to buy out of my own pocket. So I suck it up and give them as little of my business as possible.

[snardo]

I am in a position where, due to location (middle of nowhere), there is only one DME close enough to do business with. Sadly, though it is a national company, the local office is highly incompetent. I was really glad that I did my research well (much thanks to this site and my fellow members) because when I started to deal with the DME I got all kinds of interesting lines. What sticks out most to me though was not the interaction with the therapist so much as with the billing staff. They tried all sorts of cons including trying to bill me for a rental period that the insurance company did not require and balance billing - where they try to come after you for whatever the insurance company isn't paying even if it's above the negotiated amount (a big no-no). Essentially I had to go through line by line on my bill with the billing staff and explain to them how to do the math to get the right numbers. I shudder to think how much I might have paid out of pocket unnecessarily had I not done my homework first.

As for the therapist, I'd like to think she was just ignorant; perhaps because they don't often get folks educated enough to request something other than the bricks they try to sell to most of their customers. Anyway, the biggest thing she told me was that the EPR or whatever the acronym is (I can't remember right now) on the S9 is not something I can change. So she turned it on, had me put the mask on and try to decide, in about a minute or so, whether it was set properly. She said, "It's on 3 now, which is the most comfortable, so you should probably leave it there." The first night, I couldn't get to sleep because it was dropping the pressure too far and I was getting apneas as I tried to fall asleep. So at 11pm, I downloaded the clinician's guide anf figured out how to change it.

On a more positive note, I should mention that the folllow-on support (provided by a different part of the company) has been quite pleasant. They call me every month and tell me what I'm eligible for in the way of supplies according to my insurance coverage and ship what I request. Much better than my previous DME (different ins.) that handed me a brick, and I never heard from them again - I had to figure out exactly what I needed down to part numbers, etc and then call them to place an order and hope that it was something I was "due" for so the ins. would cover it. Even if I wasn't due, they'd still ship it and then bill me for the full cost.
I've probably vented enough for one day.

[archangle]

Ever have a car dealer lie to you or distort the truth?

No. I have used the same new car dealer for all my repairs and maintenance for 33 years. Perfectly honest and highly competent.

Maybe he's just a really good con man.