Is my DME's RT and idiot, or am I?
Pepper: I am on Winnipesaukee too. I used the sleep lab at Lakes Region General Hospital. They recommended Hutchinson Medical in Concord (1.866.417.5337) who specialize in sleep care. They are my only dme experience. Like the other local dmes, their stated prices are high. As much as I would have preferred to give cpap.com my business, when I did the math it was indeed cheaper for me to go through my Cigna HMO insurance. On the bright side, the sleep tech there was extremely helpful (took lots of time when he came to my home to set me up; gave me honest answers that others didn't, and didn't hesitate to upgrade masks and things). We'll see how happily they respond when they learn that the doc today agreed to my request to replace my Remstar Pro II with cflex with the Auto version.
Make sure the prescription you get from the doc is specifically for the auto and have him/her even write what brand and type you want. Then take that to the dme and see if they are willing to provide the equipment you are requesting. Have them put in writing what your anticipated out of pocket expense will be. Then compare that to cpap.com. If the dme is unwilling to provide the auto as ordered then also make sure you take that information back to whoever referred you to that dme. A dme usually pays attention to an angry doctors office or sleep lab.
Keep in mind that somewhere along the line you will probably have to pay your insurance deductible anyway.
The only way to get dme's to be more accomodating is to hit them at the referral source level. Dme's spend lots of money every year marketing to these sources and for the most part we don't like to make them mad.
Maybe this will help,
MelMel
Keep in mind that somewhere along the line you will probably have to pay your insurance deductible anyway.
The only way to get dme's to be more accomodating is to hit them at the referral source level. Dme's spend lots of money every year marketing to these sources and for the most part we don't like to make them mad.
Maybe this will help,
MelMel
Sorry it took me so long!
Sorry it's taken me so long to reply to you all. Things got a little hectic this past week, and I've been unable to get back to this.
First - to Liam: We've not been to the sleep lab at DHMC, just the Otolarynology Dept. We were initially referred there by another specialist for a hearing disorder. After the Audiology exam was finished he was examined by Dr. Weider, who immediately noticed severe obstructions in both the nose and the throat. These are not contributing to the hearing loss, but were severe enough for him to do some fiberoptic searches through the nose and throat. This was done on a screen we could all look at, and we were a little horrified at how badly these areas are closed up. After hearing that hubby had been through THREE totally unsuccessful sleep studies at LRGH seven years ago, he questioned us both a lot further. This is how we came to the point of scheduling the surgeries themselves. He was to perform surgery on the nose and throat all in one day. Unfortunately, he suffered a fatal heart attack four days before we were scheduled.
We've since learned that his replacement will be onboard in May, and we can schedule an appointment at that time. We'll go in and meet him and see if he recommends the same treatment or not, and move forward from there. In the meantime, we're still going to pursue the AutoPap for the interim, and if it works really well, perhaps that could change the end result too.
If the new Doctor recommends a sleep study at DHMC I certainly hope we have a better experience there than what we had in the early days of the lab at LRGH. I understand things are much diferent there now, but we've kinda lost our faith and it would be hard to regain confidence in them.
Now, to MelMel - I'll be speaking to the PCP tomorrow, and will tell her of your advice. I'm certain that she will want to be certain that we acquire the best alternative right away.
And to Seamaiden - Thanks for the info about Hutchinson!!!!! I have had some nice conversation with Keene Medical in Concord - ( I was actually referred to them by the dolt at Lindon'tCare) and I have high hopes that they'll be able to assist me. If it looks like they're going to be a problem, I'll happily jump down the road to Hutchinson!
To all - thanks to everyone who posts on these threads, as we've learned so much from all of you! The information we get here has helped tremendously, and in so many ways. We are so grateful to all of you!
Sweet Dreams to all of you who can sleep!!!
First - to Liam: We've not been to the sleep lab at DHMC, just the Otolarynology Dept. We were initially referred there by another specialist for a hearing disorder. After the Audiology exam was finished he was examined by Dr. Weider, who immediately noticed severe obstructions in both the nose and the throat. These are not contributing to the hearing loss, but were severe enough for him to do some fiberoptic searches through the nose and throat. This was done on a screen we could all look at, and we were a little horrified at how badly these areas are closed up. After hearing that hubby had been through THREE totally unsuccessful sleep studies at LRGH seven years ago, he questioned us both a lot further. This is how we came to the point of scheduling the surgeries themselves. He was to perform surgery on the nose and throat all in one day. Unfortunately, he suffered a fatal heart attack four days before we were scheduled.
We've since learned that his replacement will be onboard in May, and we can schedule an appointment at that time. We'll go in and meet him and see if he recommends the same treatment or not, and move forward from there. In the meantime, we're still going to pursue the AutoPap for the interim, and if it works really well, perhaps that could change the end result too.
If the new Doctor recommends a sleep study at DHMC I certainly hope we have a better experience there than what we had in the early days of the lab at LRGH. I understand things are much diferent there now, but we've kinda lost our faith and it would be hard to regain confidence in them.
Now, to MelMel - I'll be speaking to the PCP tomorrow, and will tell her of your advice. I'm certain that she will want to be certain that we acquire the best alternative right away.
And to Seamaiden - Thanks for the info about Hutchinson!!!!! I have had some nice conversation with Keene Medical in Concord - ( I was actually referred to them by the dolt at Lindon'tCare) and I have high hopes that they'll be able to assist me. If it looks like they're going to be a problem, I'll happily jump down the road to Hutchinson!
To all - thanks to everyone who posts on these threads, as we've learned so much from all of you! The information we get here has helped tremendously, and in so many ways. We are so grateful to all of you!
Sweet Dreams to all of you who can sleep!!!
Pepper - who knows where to go and isn't afraid to go there!