reporting data for yearly checkup

My husband needs to go for his yearly sleep apnea checkup so the doctor can collect the data from the previous year to satisfy Medicare so we can continue to get supplies. Somehow the SD did not get properly seated in his System One machine all last year. He can skip the in-person visit and have a telephone visit instead if we can mail the disc to the DME so they can send the data to the doc's office. He put the disc in properly yesterday, but it only recorded the events of last night, and did not add all the data from the year. How can we get the machine to add all that missing data to the disc? Will we have to take the machine to the DME to have the download made directly from the machine?

We really want to avoid the in-person visit at the hospital because of the risk of getting Covid-19 for a person of his age and compromised immune system. We have both gotten old, late 70s now, and the technology has advanced while we have not kept up. I would appreciate any help you may offer to us. Unfortunately we do not have any grandchildren to do these things for us.

Any suggestions for retrieving the data?

Thanks.

Catnapper - Joanie

The machine should store at least a years worth of summary data in its internal memory and put it on the SD card once it gets inserted into the machine.
That summary data should be enough to make the doctor happy and it's on the SD card....but the doctor/DME needs to have it.

What are you seeing that makes you think you only have the one night of any data? Which software are you using?

Do you know how to go into the SD card and poke around in the folder that contains the data files and look for dates to confirm the data file is in there? If not...what operating system is on your computer?

Thanks Pugsy. I have not used software to check the SD. I opened it with the Windows 10 that shows the drives. I looked at it yesterday and realized that the last entry had been dated a year ago, just about the time of the last in-person visit with the doctor. This morning, after leaving it in the machine all night, it had a new folder, but all the items had been dated last night with the exception of 3 or 4 about the time I put the disc back in the machine. The entries had very small sizes, just a few kb each. In the folders of previous years of data on the disc it had lots of dates from years past.

I had assumed that the machine would write to the disc overnight and put on it all the missing data, and that the files would be larger than just a few kb. I thought that all I had to do would be to put the disc in the machine and it would do it automatically. Yes the doctor would be happy with the summary of last year.

I can't open the the items in the folders to see them, but they have time stamps at short intervals, 15 minutes or half hour or so apart. That made me think it would write to the disc when it had something to report. As you can see, I don't know what I am talking about here. It just seemed to me that it would have dates from the whole year if it had all been recorded on the disc.

He has the System One that works for central apnea, in case you need to know that. I have a Dreamstation that has a modem so it does not have to have the disc returned to the doctor. He has had that machine for 6 years so the doctor will probably give him a new machine this year. No doubt a new one with have a modem so we won't have this problem again.

I have gotten lazy and have not tried Oscar, so the last time I looked at the software I used Sleepyhead. Hubby has no interest in looking at his data. I used to use the old Encore but it went with my old computer, so I don't have that now.

I hope that made sense.

Joanie

Hi Joanie,

You may have to run the SD card through OSCAR or SleepyHead and see what it shows.

You don't need to open the dated and time stamped files...the important thing is if they are there or not there and there should be something more than just last night and a year ago but those summary files from the internal memory may go into a different folder and I don't know where that might be and I don't have a System One anymore to go checking.

The P# folders (higher the number the newer the files) is where all the data graph files are normally stored...and if you go into the highest number P folder and scroll down to the bottom that is the most recent file and should be dated this morning for last night's data.

Can you check in there????

The P folders are sub folders to the folder with the machine's serial number on it. The oldest folder will be the P0 folder...there will be a lot of P folders and the one with the highest number is the current folder where all the files go.

If you see the files and you see this past years data on OSCAR or SleepyHead....you can just make a copy of that SD card and snail mail it or even email it if the person at the doctors office knows how to handle it...they might even take a copy of OSCAR depending on how nice they are.

Hi Pugsy

We have an old computer that still has Sleepyhead on it. I put the disc in there. It has data from 7/4/20 to 7/11/20 and old stuff from 2019. No other data from 2020. Not one bit.

Looking in the P folders, it has dates of 7/11 and 7/12 which is last night and this morning. Other dates have 2019.

To me that means the disc will accept data, and the machine will send only a small amount of data.

Mystery.

Joanie

It is a mystery because if it will write last night's data to the card it should have been writing the summary data to the internal memory on the machine itself (which would then go onto the SD card)....unless there is something wrong with the internal memory storage which wouldn't be impossible.

Maybe someone else has an idea to try. We've exhausted mine.
Even if you took the machine in...if it's not on the internal storage...it's just not there.
Totally weird.

FWIW....your doctor might be willing to just take your word for the usage and tell the DME that compliance requirements have been met.
I am on Medicare...in 11 years I have never had to furnish a copy of anything proving compliance to get my supplies.
It's the DME/doctor who is blaming Medicare but Medicare really doesn't care. They never send anything to Medicare in terms of actual data....they just have to say you continue to use it and need it and are responding well.

My DME has NEVER asked for a copy of anything from my machine just for me to get a new mask.

Oh....don't forget that Medicare now allows tele visits with the doctor and will pay for them just like if you went in person to the office.
Now getting the doctor to do it...might be a whole new can of worms.
They have allowed them as a covered expense so that all us old folks on Medicare can stay home and avoid the virus.

Thanks for trying, Pugsy. I have always had to bring in the disc to show the doctor. Could it be a state thing?

It might be a state thing I suppose....I have no way to know for sure what every state's regulations are.
Could also simply be the doctor and DME having their own in house rules which is perfectly legal for them to do.

BUT....then they should say state regulations or their own in house regulations and not blame insurance...

It just annoys the hell out of me when doctors and DMEs won't just own up to the fact that they might have their own in house rules they want followed. It's legal...they can do that so why lie about it and always blame insurance.....that's my big gripe when they do that.
I just don't like being lied to...little quirk of mine. Tell me the truth for god's sake and I won't bitch...DMEs and doctors are well within their medical rights to set certain requirements before they will issue another prescription....so why don't they just admit it.

I have poured over the Medicare requirements for established cpap patients...there's nothing in there about Medicare requiring anything but the doctor saying it is still being use, needed and working well on an annual basis. They don't ever request the actual data.
Heck, I haven't even seen any doctor since August of 2009 about my sleep apnea...don't even discuss it with my PCP when I do my BP meds check thing. I have never been asked to furnish data by my DME when I go get my one mask every 6 months that Medicare will pay for.
I did the initial compliance face to face thing in Aug 2009 (you know you have to see the doc within 90 days thing) and that's the last time I have ever talked to any doctor about my therapy or anyone has seen any of my reports.

Catnapper wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 12, 2020 12:14 pm

My husband needs to go for his yearly sleep apnea checkup so the doctor can collect the data from the previous year to satisfy Medicare so we can continue to get supplies. Somehow the SD did not get properly seated in his System One machine all last year. He can skip the in-person visit and have a telephone visit instead if we can mail the disc to the DME so they can send the data to the doc's office. He put the disc in properly yesterday, but it only recorded the events of last night, and did not add all the data from the year. How can we get the machine to add all that missing data to the disc? Will we have to take the machine to the DME to have the download made directly from the machine?

We really want to avoid the in-person visit at the hospital because of the risk of getting Covid-19 for a person of his age and compromised immune system. We have both gotten old, late 70s now, and the technology has advanced while we have not kept up. I would appreciate any help you may offer to us. Unfortunately we do not have any grandchildren to do these things for us.

Any suggestions for retrieving the data?

Thanks.

Catnapper - Joanie

If your data truly is lost you can look to the total machine hours. Divide that by the total number of days you have owned the machine (6 years times 365) You now have reasonable proof the machine has been used X hours per day on average since it was acquired. As long as your average exceeds 4 hours per day you should be fine.
Sometimes you just need to think out of the box.

On the perhaps upside of things....if the machine isn't storing data like it should then that means a new machine sooner than later...and then the down side to that is of course another 13 month rental copay thing and all those requirements because Medicare will require compliance requirements even for an established patient if they get a new machine....just like they do when they pay for the very first machine.

Thanks bwexler! Great idea! They can't argue with that, now can they? I like the way you think.

Actually the DME suggested the new machine when I talked to her the other day because of its age. Fortunately for us, we have the Medicare supplement that pays for everything that Medicare approves but doesn't pay, even the deductible. We may pay more in premiums to get that coverage. We have both had cancer and never had to pay a penny for treatment and care, so it has come in handy. I believe the doctor will order a new machine. We might have to visit the nurse practioner this time because he doesn't do the telephone thing. I have been seeing that same doctor for 14 years of sleep apnea treatment so he has known me for a long time. My husband joined the cpap club 6 years ago, and this is his first machine. I think they need to have some data to tell the DME the necessary pressures for the new machine. He could start with the current ones and check it after a few weeks of use.

If the machine has a modem, can they make changes in the therapy that way as well as just read the data? Makes sense that they can.

Thanks everyone for helping. I knew if anyone could help that I would find it here.

If you look at the top of the page, you will see a post I started in 2006, proof that I have been around a long time. Newbie would like to hear success stories, please.

Catnapper - Joanie

Catnapper wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 12, 2020 7:22 pm

If you look at the top of the page, you will see a post I started in 2006, proof that I have been around a long time. Newbie would like to hear success stories, please.

Catnapper - Joanie

HA! just recommended to someone yesterday to put their success story in your thread.

Update...

We had a phone visit with the nurse practioner for our annual checkup. She recommended that my husband get a new machine once we convinced her that it cannot give good therapy if it does not record any information about what happens while he sleeps. She agreed because his machine has been used for 6 years anyway. Whew! Easy solution. Medicare allows a replacement after 5 years. He got the machine 7/10/14, so 6 years and 8 days.

Thanks for all the help.

Catnapper - Joanie

PS. I got my first machine 8/4/06. I have had several since then. Currently a Dreamstation auto bi-pap with heated hose, etc.