"DME" is for "Dummy"!!!

Just had an entertaining (and enlightening) visit to my DME. They called and said it was time to have my card read (for the first time...)

When I got there she took the card and said "This will only take a minute." I couldn't see them but I could hear the conversation. "What do I put in here?" "I think that's for...maybe...I dunnno, just leave it blank and fill it in later." "[Yelled] How long have you had your machine, sir?" "Me: About 4 months." "[Yelled] Thank you. "Why is there only 16 days of data?" "I think it only holds so much, then just writes over it." "Do I tell it to keep the data?" "No. Well, yeah, you can. It will just keep writing over it."

Then, after close to 15 minutes of fumbling and printing, she came out with my card and a SUMMARY report (basically compliance data, which my insurance does NOT require) and said "We'll fax a copy to your Dr. This copy is for your files."

I wanted SOOOO bad to ask her to explain the report to me, but without the detail it wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining.

Oh! When I set up my account in EP on MY computer I made myself Patient# 31, because I was planning to print my own reports and take them to the Doc. And Patient# 1 might look a bit suspicious, so I picked 31. Apparently that's recorded on the card, because I'm now the DME's "Patient 31", too! (I wonder if the real #31 just got the boot from their system?)

I think next time I'll tell them I can print my own reports and won't be needing that service. God knows what this fiasco cost my Insurance company! <sigh>

LinkC wrote: Oh! When I set up my account in EP on MY computer I made myself Patient# 31

Ah, when I set up mine I am Patient #1 because I figured I was my most important patient so I shoud be # uno. Told my Doc who does not have software that I would bring him a copy. I think he got tired of me bringing them because my file folder was getting to full and he was going to have to make another one. Finally broke the news that I had the software to my DME this week. After 2 1/2 years they offered to read it!

Jerry

Ah, Link - you were too nice! You should have asked her to explain the report. THEN you should have asked her where your AI, HI, AHI, and leak rate data was. THEN you should have asked her if she messed up your card, because gee, the data should have been there.

We should give these folks no mercy and no quarter.

Lisa (who after researching this forum skipped the DME altogether and bought from CPAP.com thereby keeping her BP at optimal levels)

Oh Link, you would have had such fun with all the questions you could have asked! I can just see all the squirming going on when you started to ask for some explanations. It would have provided us all with a good laugh! But truthfully, I wouldn't have pushed it either, we're too nice(LOL)!

I chose to be patient # 666 at first - now if someone else bothered to look at that and gets upset, well, let them deal with it.

I got an excuse - I just picked 3 consecutive numbers in the middle of my SS #.