buying a new machine

[lastlib]

I have been told by my Dr. that my apnea is severe. He is going to send a supplier to visit me. Should I talk to his supplier or is this a conflict of interest? What questions should I ask the supplier and should I at least talk to other suppliers and see what they recommend.

[oak]

read this and read posts about DME's on the forum. i am very very glad i did or i would have ended up with a "brick." (no data capability)

http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what-y ... me-part-i/

be sure to talk with your insurance company, if you have insurance, to find out which DME's are "in network" for you.

i was referred to a DME, like you, by the sleep clinic. i called my insurance company and found out what my options were, and found out i had a choice of 5 companies in the area.

i still met with the one i was referred to, but was very assertive. i got what i wanted, which was a fully data capable machine and the mask of my choice.

i also called my insurance company to find out financial situation BEFORE meeting with the DME, and they indicated they would pay up front for the machine, (unusual) rather than go with the whole rental process, with possibly huge hassles when i convert to medicare early next year. when the DME said they were going to rent the machine out to me, i was able to correct them.

if i were you, i would go with a DME that provides a respiratory therapist and not just a salesman like mine. i will be switching next year due to Medicare competetive billing when my Medicare kicks in, otherwise I would have switched already to a DME of MY choice.

[RandyJ]

Welcome!

Sometimes when a supplier shows up to visit you, he/she will have a machine with them and/or mask(s). You do not have to accept this machine or mask, and if it is not one of the machines which offer full EFFICACY DATA (AHI, leak, etc), I would not accept it. A supplier will tell you that the machine is "data capable" but that does not always mean EFFICACY data (it just means that it will report how many hours you used the machine). Some people feel pressured because the person "came all the way out to my house" etc... or they believe everything the DME representative tells them. "This is all your insurance will pay for" is a common lie.

Do not keep the machine or mask even one night unless you plan to keep it for good. Read up on all of your options in the blog post above (maskarrayed), and in the new user thread at the top of the home page. Your best option is to be WELL INFORMED, and don't sign or accept anything until you know it is what you want.

You should also get a copy of your prescription from your doctor so that you can shop around, if necessary, and just to have it for future needs. The doctor is required by law to give it to you if you ask for it. (But often they won't unless you ask for it, they just fax it to their favorite supplier.)

Members here can advise you if you have further questions.

[Sir NoddinOff]

The above is all good advice. By all means, avoid getting a brick. So many have made this big mistake on CPAPtalk, mostly newbies. It's so sad to have to tell them the subsequent bad news. No Sleepyhead, no Encore, no nothing... just compliance data which is virtually useless.

[martinsr00]

Recently diagnosed, same as you.

I operate from the following perspective

1. Hire doctors. They work for you. You don’t work for them.
2. Manage your own risks -- doctors suggest courses of action. The final decisions should be yours – it’s you that has to live with them.
3. Buy the machine that will more than do the job, and get it at a competitive price over the Internet. Learn how to program it and use it. Change pressures as you see fit being careful to regard the advice which you’ve paid for.
4. Submit claims to insurance companies and extract such benefits as can be obtained.

After diagnosis, I engaged a pulmonologist to check for any underlying problems. Sleep study indicated the need for a Bipap Machine. Studied information on the internet and settled on a Respironics Auto Bipap (DS760TS) with a heated hose. Just $1550 would later buy the machine, a mask and some accessories from an Internet source. Went on a forum to obtain a clinical manual so I could set up and use the machine myself. Since this machine is very data capable, every night would be a sleep study.

At the first visit to the pulmonologist, and after seeing the results of my sleep study, and after asking some questions, he was willing to write a prescription for the machine and mask that I had researched.

Using a copy of the prescription emailed to the supplier, I went out and bought the machine. It arrived in the mail a few days later. The out-of-state supplier agreed to file a claim form for reimbursement. I'll take what they finally give.

The night I received it in the mail, I put it into service, and have since used it 100% of my sleeping hours (whenever sleeping in a bed). I buy supplies and seek advice from a local DME, but none of these people tell me what to do. They advise.

Originally starting with a prescribed fixed pressure of 20/25. Since the machine allows checking the AHI every day, every night is now a sleep study. After a couple of weeks, I put the thing on Auto and set a minimum of 16 IPAP and a pressure support of 5. AHI scores now come out between 0.0 and 1.3 every night. To help with data visualization, downloaded Sleepyhead software to monitor progress.

I'm amazed at how people in these forums will allow doctors, DME's and insurance companies take over their lives. They plead with these people for allowance to make changes. Who works for whom?

Look, sure you need good doctors. And yes, I’m very careful to weigh their advice, understand it, prefer their understanding over mine when it comes to medicine. But if apnea is as serious as my doctors tell me that it is, it makes no sense to allow them a stranglehold on my health. It’s important to work with your doctors, not for them.