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That, my friend, is an absolutely AWESOME reply...mdbarthe wrote:I think I would have asked the threatening RT, "Do you know you can be arrested for practicing law without a license? Sounds to me like you're dispensing legal advice."
How about first filling out your equipment profile (you will have to become a member) and giving us some more details like pressures, mask type, etc.blogginsjoe wrote:I am a CPAP user that is still on a trial. I have trialed a Resmed Vantage 8 Machine and am no using a Remstar A flex unit. My oximetry levels have dramatically improved since being on a machine but have still not reduced my AHI numbers below 10 on a continuous basis. Also, I have not been able to use the machine throughout the entire night. I have been on a trial for about 5 weeks. I use a Swift Lt II breathing device. I have met with my DME numerous times and discussed my condition. I have completed one hospital sleep- over which became a disaster as the night progress. The person in charge of the lab was less than cooperative in the sharing of information and assisting with the visit. Although it wasn't very successful for a variety of reasons, my doctor believed, from the information gathered, that I could very well have Central Apnea. This, in my studies, didn't seem to be able to be reduced by the Resmed A10 algorithm thus the change in machines. I have an appointment this week with my Dr. to review the printouts that we have taken over the past five weeks from both machines and hopefully we will be able to come up with a solution to this on-going problem. The question I have is whether a Bi-Level machine is an option for treatment of this condition?? I have again read a variety of theories in this regard. I believe that I’m experiencing apneas that are not being preceded by snores or flow limitations and thus and are not being addressed in a rapid enough manner to prevent them from occurring. It seems that an apnea followed by another sudden or runaway apnea needs a specific treatment that doesn’t seem appropriate using a Remstar A Flex machine or a Resmed Series 8 machine that is not able to provide Bi-level therapy. Not trying to self diagnose here but need some options to take to my Dr. so we’re speaking the same language when I meet with him later this coming week. Any suggestions???? Thank to all in advance for the support!!
dsm wrote:...........
NewsFlash
"A boston man died today in a shootout with FDA agents trying to arrest him for repeatedly adjusting his cpap'
The man, a Mr Airey Breeze, failed to put down his weapon and we had to open fire said the FDA investigator.
Unfortunately the weapon turned out to be an airhose that looked like a shotgun because of how he was holding
it said the unnamed Investigator. We have to weed these trouble makers out and what happens to them is all
their own fault! he added"
DSM
Gale Hawkins wrote:......... In many states there are laws on the books making some acts done in our bedrooms illegal I have read but I do not think adjusting our CPAP machines is own of them.
.........
sleeplessinaz wrote:Are these the same people who believe that we are not allowed to cut the tags off of our matress and pillows????? LOL!!! ............
C
Speaking about my case and many others I read on internet forums, the biggest risk seems to be not changing your settings because the sleep lab so often has them wrong.wrote: ........ Are there risks? ........
Needs to be done soon. Obama wants to save health care costs, let's start selling them at WalMart and Best Buy.Gale Hawkins wrote:...........
CPAP machines will become an over the OTC item.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that xPAPs can't be sold w/o a prescription .... we can buy anything our little ole hearts desire if we are innovative enough - and usually we don't have to be any too innovative. Yep, they can't LEGALLY be sold w/o a prescription - but - they are quite often. I've purchased two w/o ever presenting a prescription. (And since I do have a script here - somewhere - its the Seller who would be in trouble, not me. But I wouldn't rat on them.sleepguide wrote: ... I know it's clear cut that the machines can't be sold without a RX. ...
I'm still trying to find out what caused this rumor in the first place. So far, it seems to be just that RTs are telling patients it's illegal. Even the OP doesn't have any link where the practice is said to be illegal. His only reference describes a CPAP machine as an "dangerous medical device." I have asked him twice to explain how that connects to illegality in some way, but he has ignored both requests.Do laws protect us from ourselves? Perhaps that is the goal.
By associating themselves with the business end of DMEs, I think lots of them are advocating more for the financial interest of the DME than the health of the patient. They won't help patients with equipment bought elsewhere, for example.Conflict of interest has been defined by Thompson1 as “a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patient’s welfare or the validity of research) tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain.)”
I'd say the motives of RTs who do this have certainly been compromised.Under no circumstances should any respiratory care practitioner engage in any activity which compromises the motive for the provision of any therapy procedures, the advice or counsel given patients and/or families, or in any manner profit from referral arrangements with home care providers or others within the healthcare environment.
Machines are smarter than people so it is OK for them to Rx the settings without Dr. review.LoQ wrote:I don't think this is a dumb question. Under the current logic (that says it is 'illegal' for a patient to adjust their own settings), wouldn't it also be illegal for an autoPAP to adjust settings? Well, maybe the doctor ordered a range of settings, so therefore it isn't illegal for the machine to choose and adjust settings within that range.
And now we have this truth, that anyone whose doctor has prescribed an auto range can set his machine for auto within that range or straight PAP for any number between the high and the low of that range. After all, all of those settings have been "prescribed" by the doctor. If not, then the autoPAP is doing something illegal.
So get your doctor to write you a script for auto for something like 4-20, and you can pretty much do what you want within that range.
Nope! If the Dr prescribed "auto" as you stated, that doesn't allow for setting it to "straight PAP" at ANY fixed pressure. Auto means auto.LoQ wrote: anyone whose doctor has prescribed an auto range can set his machine for auto within that range or straight PAP for any number between the high and the low of that range.
Sure, it does. Even in auto mode, the machine operates as "straight PAP" at various pressures throughout the night. An auto machine is really just a straight PAP machine that has a sequence of settings rather than one single setting all night long.LinkC wrote: Nope! If the Dr prescribed "auto" as you stated, that doesn't allow for setting it to "straight PAP" at ANY fixed pressure.
Yes. Which makes the two modes....um...DIFFERENT.LoQ wrote:has a sequence of settings rather than one single setting all night long.
I would HOPE so. Whether oversight or intentional, a mistake like that SHOULD cost them their DuMmiE license!Paul56 wrote:Is it illegal for a DME to set the pressure on the provided machine incorrectly?
DMEs should only be put in cells with CPAP patients who have bad cases of aerophagia.Paul56 wrote: ..........
Who knows... perhaps my cell mate will be the DME.