Legal rights......

[kayursula]

Is Severe Obstructive hypoapena with desaturation considered a medical necessity? The reason I am asking is that my doctor sent my prescription to a national C pap distributor. I got my machine and a full face mask right away. I was given some information about the machine and the use of the mask and was told if I had any questions I should call the distributor. I have been using this site to get information.

I was told that the sd card would be reviewed about 4 weeks after use to see how I was doing. It is now about two months and for the last week I have called daily to talk to the person who delivered the machine. I am told daily that he is out delivering oxygen tanks. I know that those tanks are more important than sleep apnea but I am having difficulty with the mask and I requested a nasal pillow.

At the beginning I was able to sleep through the night but now I am waking up numerous times a night. This is what sent me to the doctor in the first place. I would wake up about every couple of hours during the night and couldn't get right back to sleep. Now I am back to the old habits of waking up during the night.

I have requested a copy of my prescription but have been ignored about this as well. My husband and I travel a great deal and I don't want to be in a strange city and not be able to get replacement parts if needed.

I finally went out and bought a nasal pillow on my own. It should have been covered with insurance. I have yet to use it as other things keep popping up on me.

Any suggestions would be so helpful to me.

Thank you.

[BlackSpinner]

Call your insurance company and get a list of in networks suppliers and start calling around. Also let them know how badly you are being treated by this company.
Take charge of your own health.

Send a registered letter to your doctor requesting a copy of your prescription and sleep study.

[Bons]

A letter to the local medical society or the state board also works wonders in getting information from the doctor. Been there, done that.

[ThirdOutOfFive]

I believe that you do have a right to a copy of your prescription. I know you have a right to pick your own DME (in the US). I like the suggestions about contacting your insurer and talking to other DMEs, and about the certified (returt receipt requested) letter to the doc if a call doesn't get you a copy of the scrip.
Like so many other areas in life, you have to be a squeeky PAPpy wheel to get what you need. Good luck.

[jules]

a copy of the script should be given to you by your doctor - ask him/ her for one

your DME might not do all these replacement parts on a schedule to your suiting - ask your insurance for a schedule of replacement parts - what / how often - then find a DME that will meet it

the big national companies (Apria / Lincare) have a reputation that they don't do much for their clients - there are locations that do but a mom and pop DME might work out better for you

as far as absorbing the cost of a nasal pillow I can't feel too sorry for you - I pay for all my CPAP supplies OOP through my own choice - I got tired of all the headaches and insults hurled at me by Lincare - it was so much easier to pay for it all at cpap.com and get exactly what I wanted WHEN I wanted it and with out the nasty phone calls and collection threats from Lincare billing office - I don't even submit the charges to insurance though I probably should

be assertive and have a fall back position - the severe headaches I was getting each month from the LIncare dealings were GONE once I decided I could afford the money - I really couldn't afford the headaches any longer

[drewtrey]

Call your insurance company and get a list of in networks suppliers and start calling around. Also let them know how badly you are being treated by this company.
Take charge of Minicab from Heathrow

[Mary Z]

We certainly have legal rights to a copy of our prescription and to medical records. However to be pragmatic some offices can make them darn near impossible to get. If you go the route of asking for a release of information form and presenting that and they still do not give you the papers, it's time for a new doc.
I got fired from a practice for "abusing the staff" over medical records. Luckily I had fired him first and already had an appontment with another doc.

[NightMonkey]

I was told that the sd card would be reviewed about 4 weeks after use to see how I was doing.

Do you want to depend on buttheads for something this important to your health?

Ask someone here about the free Sleepyhead software (http://sourceforge.net/projects/sleepyhead/) so you can read your own card every morning.

IMO, it is very important to have your own software and manage your own therapy. Say goodbye to the buttheads.

Please fill out the equipment profile (text not image please) so forum members can more easily and accurately advise you.

[Janknitz]

I was told that the sd card would be reviewed about 4 weeks after use to see how I was doing.

Understand that the card is reviewed in 4 weeks to check your COMPLIANCE since Medicare and most other insurers require documentation that you are using the machine a certain number of hours and days. This has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of your treatment.

If you want to know if your treatment is working well for you, then take the suggestions above to learn how to get the data off your card and find out what it means. This is a very worthwhile process--some people go years with poor treatment because no professional bothered to look at their card to see that there was a big leak that prevented them from getting any benefit from the therapy. You can learn to look yourself and know if your treatment is effective or if you need to pressure your DME or physician to help you improve the situation.

[Bons]

Getting the doctor to sever the relationship is always good... that way you can negotiate having the records transferred for free, rather than paying when you make the switch.

As far as Janknitz's comments: my doctor checks my smart card before I go in, so that he can check progress. I'm long past the compliance issue.

[chunkyfrog]

In 2011, I found out my mail-order (cpap.com) purchases apply toward my deductible.
Once I confirm this is still the case, we will be getting at least our first $400 worth of supplies --you know where!