It's a fact. I have Sleep Apnea.

[Nick Danger]

in the rush to be compassionate, people are forgetting one of the big things... DON'T GIVE MEDICAL ADVICE.

I don't think suggesting a person take one .5mg ambien to help get to sleep for a sleep study is handing out medical advice. At different times even Pugsy has tactfully mentioned a sleep aid.

The difference EMS is that his doctor is adamantly opposed to it. PR has made some very good arguments as to why we shouldn't be coming between this person and his doctor.

[Nick Danger]

I wonder about HIPPA violations also but I am not sure about this?????

While there are some of us on this forum that HIPPAA applies to, we are not acting in our roles as health care professionals - in particular, we are not receiving payment for participation in the forum and we don't disclose information with respect to covered transactions that is not first disclosed by the forum member to whom it applies. HIPPAA does not consider the vast majority of the members of this forum as "covered entities."

In layspeak: the only ones who need to be concerned about HIPPAA on this forum are health care professionals and they should already be aware of ethical and legal considerations related to their posts. If you aren't a health care professional, you don't need to worry about HIPPAA.

[palerider]

Thank you for pointing out what I have been thinking for days, but I am embarrassed to admit have been fearful of posting, for fear of being bullied.

I wonder if that statement is going to cause anybody to stop and think about THEIR behavior...

I wonder about HIPPA violations also but I am not sure about this?????

I don't think that there's anything in HIPPA that addresses what a person does with their own medical information, if that's what you meant... I think anybody is free to share their own medical information, HIPPA is there to punish anybody else from doing that. like I say, though, I don't know.

I wonder if anybody has considered that, unlike suggesting that people CAN take their own cpap therapy into their own hands, which is, (no matter what ignorant DMEs say) perfectly legal...

Suggesting that E. take ambien against doctors orders, is encouraging him to break the law.

[zoocrewphoto]

I was easy. Apnea in all stages and all positions.
Not all apnea is in REM, but a lot is, and you may need higher pressure.
Use this to lobby for an auto, FULL DATA machine.

I never made it to REM sleep during the diagnosis, but I was already at 79, well into severe range. This is why I say I am 79+. I am most likely worse, but no need to spend 2 nights just to know how much worse I am.

As for ambien, I had no issues with it. I did figure though that if I had a reaction, the best place to be would be in a fully monitored situation like a sleep study.

[Sonnyboy]

I wonder about HIPPA violations also but I am not sure about this?????

While there are some of us on this forum that HIPPAA applies to, we are not acting in our roles as health care professionals - in particular, we are not receiving payment for participation in the forum and we don't disclose information with respect to covered transactions that is not first disclosed by the forum member to whom it applies. HIPPAA does not consider the vast majority of the members of this forum as "covered entities."

I am not saying I am an expert on HIPPA by any means.
I am just saying HIPPA has crossed my mind as something to think about.

I am not tracking who is a licensed professional here but clearly some members are and whether or not payment is received has nothing to do with HIPPA. Clearly therapeutic relationships are developing and diagnoses have been alluded to by forum members. Someone sent Enchanter an Ambien, may or may not have been someone on this forum, the sender likely now knows his name.

Medication, like it or not, falls under the jurisdiction of medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants.
Telling Enchanter to take a prescription medication is providing medical advice, the person sending him a pill is dispensing medication.

Just something to think about.

[palerider]

Medication, like it or not, falls under the jurisdiction of medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants.
Telling Enchanter to take a prescription medication is providing medical advice, the person sending him a pill is dispensing medication.

while cpaps do require a prescription, it's obviously more of the 'wink wink nudge nudge' type. no matter what people have joked about here, there really aren't CPAP ENFORCEMENT SQUADS that break down your door and haul you off if you get into the clinical menu, or even buy/sell one on craigslist...

now, the DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY... on the other hand. tend not to have any sense of humor, especially when it comes to controlled substances... and ambien IS on the controlled substances list.

Just something to think about.

indeed.

[mebrahtuyohannes]

What are the benefits of cpap

[Sonnyboy]

Medication, like it or not, falls under the jurisdiction of medical doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants.
Telling Enchanter to take a prescription medication is providing medical advice, the person sending him a pill is dispensing medication.

while cpaps do require a prescription, it's obviously more of the 'wink wink nudge nudge' type. no matter what people have joked about here, there really aren't CPAP ENFORCEMENT SQUADS that break down your door and haul you off if you get into the clinical menu, or even buy/sell one on craigslist...

now, the DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY... on the other hand. tend not to have any sense of humor, especially when it comes to controlled substances... and ambien IS on the controlled substances list.

Just something to think about.

indeed.

Yes, nothing I said relates to Cpap treatments.
Yes, Cpap police do not exist [though my sleep doctor and her staff unfortunately fail to understand this.]
Yes, HIPPA only relates to licensed professionals and their staff.

I police nothing, not my job.

I worry about the people I like which includes the forum members here.
Any of this would likely only become an issue if Enchanter had a resulting problem which is not likely to happen.

Sometimes just watching how advice is worded makes a tremendous difference.

[Jay Aitchsee]

Very good points made by Sonny and PR. I don't know if advising someone to take a controlled substance is illegal, but certainly giving someone a controlled substance, without proper authority, is. Further, it would seem that the giver could be held accountable not only for the act of giving (dispensing), but also for any harm that befell the recipient as a result.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act
(Ambien is a Class IV controlled substance)

Edit: I don't think a lay person can give "medical advice". I think advice about medical matters by a non-professional would be considered "personal advice".

[Enchanter]

I'm stuck. I don't know what the doctor can do for me if we have to do a 3rd test. I guess I'll call him and ask if we can do the home tests. The tech was even laughing at the doc, saying why is he sending you in here if you can't sleep? Makes no sense.

[Enchanter]

It's a fact. I have Sleep Apnea.

Tech confirmed it.

That ain't how this works; you still got NO facts; judging how things have gone so far they could easily have overscored SWJ to come up with something to get you into the $$$ circle; and that said, I suppose you could have had an AHI of 5.01 based on apparently nothing oh forget it this whole thing makes no sense...

They might overscored it you're saying?

[LSAT]

Very good points made by Sonny and PR. I don't know if advising someone to take a controlled substance is illegal, but certainly giving someone a controlled substance, without proper authority, is. Further, it would seem that the giver could be held accountable not only for the act of giving (dispensing), but also for any harm that befell the recipient as a result.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act
(Ambien is a Class IV controlled substance)

Edit: I don't think a lay person can give "medical advice". I think advice about medical matters by a non-professional would be considered "personal advice".

How about advising someone to use/get a CPAP...that's a prescribed item. It's done all the time on this forum.

[Jay Aitchsee]

How about advising someone to use/get a CPAP...that's a prescribed item. It's done all the time on this forum.

Cpap is not a "controlled substance" and I think advising its use would fall under the guise of personal advice - if given by a non-professional. But, I'm not a lawyer - or a doctor

[Krelvin]

Yes, HIPPA only relates to licensed professionals and their staff.

Actually HIPAA also covers employment employee info ssn, benefits, discipline, hiring and other personal information. It is not just limited to healthcare.

[Cardsfan]

Enchanter-- 'the best thing you can do now is be patient. Let the Dr have time to review the test results and see what he says. Like I said earlier, it is a slow process, from start to finish.