How long does this take?

jqp · Post by **jqp** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:30 am

It's been 7 weeks since my initial study.

It's been 3 weeks since my titration study.

I've been given no results (other than I have OSA), had no discussions with any doctor, RT, nobody. MY family doctor who sent me to the sleep lab says he's called them numerous times looking for some info as well.

Last week they said my study was being "transcribed."

How long does this usually take, and don't you normally get some kind of feedback from somebody along the way?

This whole thing seems to be poorly orchestrated.

JQP

Organplayer · Post by **Organplayer** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:44 am

Harass your pcp, call the sleep lab and generally be a pain in the backend to them. That wait is ridiculous.I knew from my titration that I felt better because of cpap. I harassed everyone involved until I got my machine. Took me a week and a half. And my doc is a good one.

Push,pull and be persistent and if need be, vocal and LOUD.

Kevin

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:28 am

It took at least a month for me. Horrible wait, especially when you know how much better you will feel.
And I agree, you need to let them know that you're in a hurry.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:55 pm

My MD called the sleep lab the next morning after the sleep study and got the "it's being transcribed thingy". He requested and got a copy of the hand written report and wrote me a script and I had a CPAP by 1p.m. the next day.

AdmiralCougar · Post by **AdmiralCougar** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:01 pm

It seems normally that at Kaiser at least here in Portland you normally don't hear anything for 4-6 weeks from your initial sleep study for anything. In fact they made me sign a paper stating that my Tech couldn't give out any information pertaining to my study results and not to contact them until after 6 weeks if I hadn't heard from someone. I suppose lucky that I have severe OSA because I heard back same week... Now if only my Dr. can get things straightened out with the sleep lab.

amandalee · Post by **amandalee** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 3:52 pm

I second the "keep bugging them" suggestion. I had to wait 2 weeks to get the results of my first study, only to be told I needed a second study. By then, I was feeling worse than ever, so the day after my second study, I emailed my doctor and let him know that I needed a machine NOW.

Be polite, but whenever you talk to someone, emphasize how bad you are feeling. I mentioned that I was using up alot of my sick leave and was worried that I'd get fired from my job if I didn't get treatment ASAP.

Anything you can say to light a fire under them and make them see you as an actual human rather than a number on a file ( ) is helpful.

Hunter1 · Post by **Hunter1** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:37 pm

My doctor called me two days after my test with the results. This process does not take a month.

If my doctor took a month to call me back, this would raise red flags with me.

Hunter1

jqp · Post by **jqp** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 5:54 am

Well, I finally got a voicemail last night at 9:30 from my GP. He said he had the test results and he'd like to go over them with me.

On a whim, I called the DME place (Apria) that Aetna is contracted with and they said they had received my equipment order and were going through the "insurance verification process." Isn't that a 5 minute phone call?

They said I can either drive up to their fully staffed regional office and pick out my equipment or wait for someone to call me to set up an appointment to do it in their smaller semi-local office.

I think I might opt for just driving up there.

Thanks for the advice. I guess bugging them works.

JQP

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:32 am

My advice is the following.

Make sure Apria is the only one that your insurance will work with. Do this yourself, don't believe the sleep place or the DME. Call your insurance.

If it is true that for insurance purposes you have to go to apria, make sure that your total out of pocket cost is not more than buying online with no insurance "benefit". Check cash prices on our hosts site.

Get your prescription and sleep study yourself and put in your file. It is good in the future.

Research machines and features and make sure you know what YOU want.
Ask questions here about specific machines.

What is your titrated pressure.

Do you need exhale relief?, what about other features?

Do not allow the DME to hand you a non-data recording base machine or pay an upcharge for a better machine. Feel free to walk out with no machine if things are not right.

Make sure you get to try masks and get to pick what you want. Look at the masks on our host's site and know the prices so you will know if you are being steered towards the cheapest one the the DME will bill the same for as the more expensive one.

I probably missed some but that is the basic idea. Know what you want, don't be afraid to not take anything if you don't fully understand the cost implications or if the machine is not what you want.

jqp · Post by **jqp** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:38 am

Thanks. My insurance pays 100%, luckily.

Apria is it, unless I want to drive a few hundred miles.

When I talked to the Apria folks they said they carry the whole line of Remstar M products in stock. It looks like the Remstar Pro w/c-flex is the one I want. We'll see if I can get it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:39 am

jqp wrote:Thanks. My insurance pays 100%, luckily.

Apria is it, unless I want to drive a few hundred miles.

When I talked to the Apria folks they said they carry the whole line of Remstar M products in stock. It looks like the Remstar Pro w/c-flex is the one I want. We'll see if I can get it.

Don't accept anything LESS than the Pro. It has data recording, so you will have the potential to monitor you own therapy with it.

Den

jqp · Post by **jqp** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:39 am

Wow, this is getting funny.

Yesterday, the lady at Apria told me to just drive the 90 mile round trip to their regional branch in Duluth and I'd be able to take my equipment home with me.

As I got ready to head up there today, I called once again and asked if I would be able to take the equipment home with me today. She says no, we recieved your Rx, but not your sleep study. You'll have to pay full price for the equipment if you come today.

She tells me to ask the sleep lab to fax the sleep study to them so they can schedule me in for an appointment today at my local branch (10 miles away). I call the sleep lab, they say the sleep study was faxed WITH the Rx already, but they'll fax it again.

I wait two hours and call Apria back to see about getting an appointment today. This time the lady tells me that yes, they got the sleep study but the lady working on my file isn't there today, and even if she was, there is more verification to go through.

I'm sure glad this OSA stuff isn't serious or life threatening... oh wait.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:10 pm

My sleep doctor's office did something similar......neglected to send the sleep study documents to my insurance. Then they said they did.....but insurance didn't get them.....only after I stayed on their ass did they finally get them faxed to my insurance....10 days later.

In the mean time, the sleep doc had written and given me my prescription and told me to go pick up my stuff. Had I used the local DME (where he sent me), I'd have been on the hook for the whole works because of the absence (at that point) of the approval from my insurance. I waited UNTIL I got word from my insurance provider that they had received the documents and approved the prescription. THEN, I purchased from CPAP.COM.

Den

jqp · Post by **jqp** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:26 pm

So for fun, I called Aetna to see if there is anything on their end holding things up. The nice rep said, no - if I have an Rx, it's medically necessary and Aetna doesn't need to approve it - Apria doesn't need anything from Aetna, other than to verify general coverage.

She then asked for the number to Apria so she could talk to them and figure out what their problem is. I've been on hold for 10 minutes. .....

We'll see where this goes.

I'm tired of playing this game, but at this point it's a mission to get folks to do their jobs in a timely fashion.

jqp · Post by **jqp** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:44 pm

Wow, guess what? After the Aetna lady called them, everything is magically ready to go now.

The local office lady calls me and says "you can come pick up your mask now"

Uh... isn't there supposed to be something to plug the mask into??

No, all I have an order for is a mask.

Ughhhh. I think I give up. (Not really)

Mask

Mask