Great quote from my ENT

[Kilgore Trout]

I was at my ENT today for a mid-week checkup after my partial turbinectomy and septoplasty. When I was sitting with the doctor, I saw the American Board of Sleep Medicine certificate on the wall. So, I decided to check out the corporate sleep doctor's ideas about autoset. After all, my (old) sleep doc is at a corporate sleep place (American Sleep Medicine), and my ENT is a practice at a hospital, and he's also got credentials out the wazoo. I thought he just might have a different opinion.

"Question for you... my old sleep doc says in the sleep community, all of the doctors are against autoset machines. Is that true?"

He smirked and struggled to find the right words. Finally, he cautiously replied, "I don't want to comment on the scruples of one doctor or another, but a patient being on an autoset machine means you don't need nearly as many sleep studies. I'll leave it at that." He went on to tell me that he thinks autos can be great when set appropriately and watching the data, but normal cpap machines are good for a lot of people as well.

When I told him my old sleep doc said autosets haven't improved since they first came out about 30 years ago, he laughed his ass off.

Hilarious

[Julie]

Did you ask if he can clone himself for the rest of us?

[Bookbear]

Sorry, can't get the image to post... try this (it isn't spam and is virus and malware free: http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/ROTFLM ... 745468.jpg

[greatunclebill]

I was at my ENT today for a mid-week checkup after my partial turbinectomy and septoplasty. When I was sitting with the doctor, I saw the American Board of Sleep Medicine certificate on the wall. So, I decided to check out the corporate sleep doctor's ideas about autoset. After all, my (old) sleep doc is at a corporate sleep place (American Sleep Medicine), and my ENT is a practice at a hospital, and he's also got credentials out the wazoo. I thought he just might have a different opinion.

"Question for you... my old sleep doc says in the sleep community, all of the doctors are against autoset machines. Is that true?"

He smirked and struggled to find the right words. Finally, he cautiously replied, "I don't want to comment on the scruples of one doctor or another, but a patient being on an autoset machine means you don't need nearly as many sleep studies. I'll leave it at that." He went on to tell me that he thinks autos can be great when set appropriately and watching the data, but normal cpap machines are good for a lot of people as well.

When I told him my old sleep doc said autosets haven't improved since they first came out about 30 years ago, he laughed his ass off.

Hilarious

love it..... it's so hard to get a doctor to comment about another doctor. alot of times they just talk with facial gestures.

i remember when my primary doctor was leaving his practice to go elsewhere. i asked my pulmonologist, that i saw in the same location, if there was another primary doctor in the office he would recommend to us. his answer was no, go elsewhere. we did. it's so hard to find the honest ones. LOL....

[sapphirerose]

My Sleep Doctor is at a Teaching Hospital. She gave me an APAP. She is also involved in research on Home Studies vs in lab studies. She said I wasn't a great candidate for my initial study to be a home study because I have asthma (she is a pulmonologist), but once we did the initial study and I refused to sleep in that uncomfortable sleep center again, she did give me an APAP.

She did not set it wide open though, like some have reported. My pressure range is 7-11. When she first saw me and looked at my airway, she said I have a tiny airway and my needed pressure would likely be around 9. Most of the time I hang out around 8.2. When I had a cold, I ended up with higher pressures. When the cold went away, the pressures went down. She was thrilled with my data when I went back for my first appointment, 1 month after I got the APAP.

She seems to be very modern and aware of the research within her field. Unfortunately, being at a big teaching hospital, odds are I won't see her again unless I have a problem. Non-problem patients, like my husband, see the nurse practicioner after the intial few appointments work out the kinks.

[greatunclebill]

Unfortunately, being at a big teaching hospital, odds are I won't see her again unless I have a problem. Non-problem patients, like my husband, see the nurse practicioner after the intial few appointments work out the kinks.

luckily, my insurance (tricare) only pays for seeing doctors, not pa's or practicioners. if i did see a pa the real doctor would have to make an appearance and be on the billing. some places give you a pa and do fuzzy billing to get around it. ask your insurance about pa's and see what they say. they may be doing something that isn't quite squeaky clean legal.

[Kilgore Trout]

Did you ask if he can clone himself for the rest of us?

Hah! Completely slipped my mind. I'll be seeing them again tomorrow to have stints from my surgery removed; I'm going to ask if they'd consider taking over as my primary sleep doctors. If they agree to do that, I'll pass the good word along. I don't know how many people are in the Baltimore area, but we love our doctors who got weened at Johns Hopkins

[jenn1270]

As a physician, I am not supposed to talk about others but sometimes you have to make sure you take care of your patients. I always tell my patients what to expect when I send them to someone. I typically anticipate what people are going to think...like the one doctor in town who wears ratty jeans and a t-shirt every day. I assure them he is a great doctor and not the janitor they put a stethoscope on and sent in to see them.

I also appreciate doctors being honest with me as well. We found out today that my husband has a tumor on his spine and being new to the medical community where we are, I had to trust that I was being referred to someone who is well thought of. The family med doc smiled at me and said he recommended a certain doc and then mentioned "he has a great bedside manner." That is nice to know....because if someone had a bad bedside manner it is nice to know about to be prepared how to deal with them and how to rapid fire questions so they get answered before the doc is backing out the door.

These folks are the ones that give my profession a bad rap and gets people to calling us "greedy doctors" like Pres Obama does. Unfortunately there are many out there that are greedy and want to take your money and order tests because they know that insurance will pay for it so they have financial incentive.

We have been blessed to find a wonderful sleep doctor here and now have a great family medicine doctor (the last was a joke and missed the tumor) and I have great confidence in this fellow. It is sad though that I found these guys because I was able to ask folks in the medical community who they recommended. The regular public doesn't have that luxury and it breaks my heart that people get crappy care by uncaring or incompetent doctors.

Jenn

[idamtnboy]

As a physician, I am not supposed to talk about others but sometimes you have to make sure you take care of your patients........The regular public doesn't have that luxury and it breaks my heart that people get crappy care by uncaring or incompetent doctors

Jenn, since you are one of us, and one of "them," what sort of suggestions do you have to offer us to improve and enhance our relationships with our medical providers? I'm sure you've read many of the posts in this forum where we have expressed frustrations, disappointments, and some kudos, about doctors and DME suppliers. Tell us honestly, from your experience and perspective, are we way off base, a little off base, or right on base with our bashing and praising of our health care providers? What can we, as patients, do to help transform the "us and them" relationship to a "we" relationship?

I don't know if you read the discussion a certain DME business operative, LTTS, started a few weeks ago about how we patients expect to receive more from DME suppliers than they are being paid to provide. Sadly, because of her combative attitude right from the get-go she squandered a wonderful opportunity for meaningful dialog with us. The whole medical industry is a mess, and we should, or want to, as the case may be, do what we can to help fix it. But we feel like the victims, and pretty much powerless, to do anything. Any ideas what we can do to help fix it? Have you any cautions or encouragements to offer us?

[HoseCrusher]

Jenn, A big Amen... Now, do you make cross country house calls...?

[Elle]

"As a physician, I am not supposed to talk about others"...but I think I will anyway.

Your quote from Obama... "greedy doctors". Where and when did he say this?

[rocklin]

As a physician, I am not supposed to talk about others (physicians) . . .

Why?

Lives are often at stake.

What could possibly justify such a philosophy?

.

[49er]

As a physician, I am not supposed to talk about others (physicians) . . .

Why?

Lives are often at stake.

What could possibly justify such a philosophy?

.

Because doctors are censored and shunned when they do the right thing. And they get fired from their jobs.

Anyway, here is an example of a doctor who did the right thing and paid the price for it.

http://www.madinamerica.com/2012/02/let ... t-lines-5/

"I was fired from my employed position last year in part because I had started cautiously helping patients withdraw from drugs that seemed to be hurting them. The hospital was concerned that my methods fell outside of the standard of care, could be harmful to patients, and thus did not represent the hospital’s interests well. But do you think this patient’s original doctor will ever be questioned by any employer or licensing board for diagnosing and prescribing with such abandon? No, he won’t be. You would think it would be in the best interest of her insurance company to ask this question: “How come this previously healthy, active young woman, in the course of nine months, now requires three medications at over $200/month, in addition to multiple office visits and blood testing?""

Also, see this blog entry and a comment by an anonymous resident near the end. This person has been reprimanded for questioning the prescribing habits of a faculty member:

http://1boringoldman.com/index.php/2012 ... /#comments

Please understand Rocklin that as one who feels I have been harmed by being on psych meds for way too many years, I am not disagreeing with you. But then there is reality that doctors have to deal with such as Jenn.

Sorry, I got off topic - I too would like to hear from Jenn as to how we can best work with doctors to get the most out of our treatment.

Thanks!

49er

[So Well]

"As a physician, I am not supposed to talk about others"...but I think I will anyway.

Your quote from Obama... "greedy doctors". Where and when did he say this?

You can listen to him say it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr3dzvMQniA

Obama is a bitter man who doesn't like people and doesn't like our society and in his arrogance thinks he is going to straighten everyone out. He has done nothing but make things worse.

This doctor briefly sums up Obama's cruel and unjustified attacks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEyvIn ... re=related

[Elle]

"As a physician, I am not supposed to talk about others"...but I think I will anyway.

Your quote from Obama... "greedy doctors". Where and when did he say this?

You can listen to him say it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr3dzvMQniA

Obama is a bitter man who doesn't like people and doesn't like our society and in his arrogance thinks he is going to straighten everyone out. He has done nothing but make things worse.

This doctor briefly sums up Obama's cruel and unjustified attacks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEyvIn ... re=related

That's ONE way of looking at it.