Finally solved RemStar AUTO card write issue (attn JohhnyG)

Johnny, As you may recall I had posted here a few times how the local Mayo clinic for whom I was participating in a 50 person study was never able to read any cards from my RemStar AUTO & I had wondered if the machine was defective & if so there was nothing I could do as the cost of returning would be more than it was worth.

Beacuse I was told by the clinic they couldn't read my cards (we tried 4) I gave up thinking about the software for my machine as I thought it would be a wasted effort.

Well I decided, after recently examining the insides of the machine, that perhaps it was fine & the Mayo clinic was the problem even though they were analysing 49 other sets of cards as part of this study.

The clue was recalling that my sleep clinic advisor had said that my machine was so new that even the Australian agents for Respironics didn't have one back in July when you delivered it to me.

So today I managed to prove that the 1.4 version of Encore Pro can and does read my cards perfectly & yes it was that the Mayo clinic conducting the study just didn't have the needed level of Encore Pro to read my latest greatest state of the art cards.

So folks - problem solved.

My RemStar AUTO does write perfectly good data to the data cards.

Cheers

DSM

Goof for you! I knew, given time, you of all people would figure it out. Must feel good to solve the mystery, eh?

cat528 wrote:

Johnny, As you may recall I had posted here a few times how the local Mayo clinic for whom I was participating in a 50 person study was never able to read any cards from my RemStar AUTO & I had wondered if the machine was defective & if so there was nothing I could do as the cost of returning would be more than it was worth.

Could someone explain this bit too me...

cat528,

dsm thought the data card writer on his machine was bad because the Doc could not read his card when he sent it in. Turns out the Doc was using an older version of the card reading software and that was the problem... seems the machine was fine all along.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): auto

When I started CPAP therapy I was invited to join a study run by the Mayo Clinic & the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNHS) Sleep Clinic, in Sydney.

The study involved taking 50 new cpappers and putting them & spouses through two 2 hour cpap introduction sessions at the RNSH clinic.

A control group of another 50 were then going to be followed up on but these people didn't participate in the pre cpap training sessions.

The 50 I belonged to were all given loaner RemStar Pros (no charge) for 2 months but I bought a new AUTO from cpap.com so didn't bother with the loaner. The members of my group had to return a data card after 1 week then the next one in another 3 weeks.

The Mayo clinic folk couldn't read my cards. They sent me 3 more to try.


STUDY
The results of the study were so significant that RNHS sleep clinic are looking at revamping what they offer...

1) Of the control group (no intro to cpap) 48% failed to proceed wit cpap therapy

2) Of the group that had the intro 8% failed to complete the 1st month.


The RNSH do not charge for the sleep study when it is recommended by an approve sleep doctor. They now feel that unless patients undertake a cpap intro, the sleep studies are being wasted on too many patients & they (the RNSH sleep clinic) are not achieving their goals.

I have been invited to some meetings where they would like to discuss what their next action might be in order to improve the results.

I will keep folks here posted on the outcome allowing for what I can talk about.

Cheers

DSM

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap.com, CPAP, auto

dsm wrote:Of the group that had the intro 8% failed to complete the 1st month.

May I ask what they did with the 2% of the group that had the intro, who used a machine whose data they couldn't read? Did they drop them? Consider them non-compliant, or what?

O.

Extremely interesting, dsm...both the solving of the card mystery and the study results regarding compliance vs non-compliance.

They now feel that unless patients undertake a cpap intro, the sleep studies are being wasted

No kidding!

I hope when you go to the "what can we do about this" meeting you'll stress MASK, comfortable MASK, COMFORTABLE MASK as probably the single most important issue in helping people adapt to using cpap regularly. Much better masks need to be offered than most DMEs dispense, better fitting techniques (user lying down, for example), and above all...let the person keep exchanging masks again, again, and again after trying the mask at home!

Also, teach the people how to adjust the pressure on their CPAP. I know, I know...that's supposed to be a big No-No. But I really believe that empowering people with that knowledge and teaching them when and under what circumstances (and how much) to tweak their machines, can go a long way toward keeping the patient WORKING at trying to stick with this kind of treatment, imho.

Instead of feeling like a passive victim of sorts, a person who has the psychological boost of feeling like he/she is actually part of the treatment team might stick with it better. Give people a more active decision-making role their own treatment. Might make some people want to keep working at it if they have an important role to play. A role that goes beyond just the decision to put on a mask and flip on a mysterious machine. Put some of the pressure setting decisions and responsibility for making it work in the user's own hands. Call them "cpap users", not patients!

I truly believe that a great deal of reluctance to use cpap treatment, and a quick initial "I can't do this...I'm not going to try it anymore" drop out is because the idea of a mask and machine are things so closely associated with critical illness, terminal illness, ICU situations. "I never want to have to be hooked to a machine!"

Empower the cpap user with more control over his/her own nightly treatment. He might even look forward to putting the mask on that next night, just to try some tweaks! Perhaps I'm grossly overestimating the number of lab rats that are out loose in the world, and who would take even the least bit of interest in working on their own treatment. But it's worth a try. Drop out rates show that the way the medical community is going about it now sure isn't helping people use CPAP.

How wonderful that the Mayo Clinic & the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNHS) Sleep Clinic in Sydney want to do something about that.

Here's an interesting study which shows compliance increases when cpap users are given a short education about their machines and are allowed to make their own pressure changes within guidelines:

Can Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Titrate Their
Own Continuous Positive Airway Pressure?

Laura,

I promise you that if the opportunity arises in regard to presenting these views I will put them forward.

Fact is I consider myself to be proof of the points you are making.

Here I am on an AUTO set to AUTO mode & adjusting my own pressures & now feeling that I am close to what is working well for me. Now I am starting to look at my download data (only each week but am doing it).

Thanks as always for your valuable comments, commitment & insights.

DSM

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): auto

ozij wrote:

dsm wrote:Of the group that had the intro 8% failed to complete the 1st month.

May I ask what they did with the 2% of the group that had the intro, who used a machine whose data they couldn't read? Did they drop them? Consider them non-compliant, or what?

O.

Aha - a trick question

I can answer authoritatively re that 2% - they weren't droped, they had memorised every nights sleep & recited it back to the sleep study person at the end of the month, how long they slept (time to bed & time risen), truly - I know!, I was there when this happened

DSM

dsm,

Glad to hear that your are going to pass along rested gals "right on" comments.

I agree 1000%! The very large majority of us cpap users have the plain old vanilla - mild to moderate OSA. There is no reason that we can't adjust our machines or allow our auto machines to adjust for us.

At the risk of being accused of beating a dead horse, I'll point out that elsewhere I've been accused of being "dangerous" for even suggesting that people should have a role in choosing their own equipment. IMHO, this "equipment" topic regarding the selection of appropriate mask/machine is as RG says "the most important issue" we are faced with in our treatment.