The price of a CPAP from a Dr office

That sounds like a great idea!! Good on him for wanting to put the patient first.

However, the advantage that the internet sites such as our host have is that they can operate on a "low-cost leader" type of business model and take advantge of economies of scale as they advertise to, quite literally, the entire internet.

The real brick and mortar DMEs do have more overhead and costs associated with dealing with insurance, offerring equipment rentals, accepting returns and exchanges, paying for extra staff, etc.... BUT I JUST CANNOT SEE how this could possibly justify a 300%+ markup.

I think there is room for middle ground between the internet sites and the traditional DMEs.....

That's what I was thinking...probably couldn't do rock bottom prices like the internet, but there should be a HUGE middle ground there. And the convenience of being right there on site, of being able to look at and examine the different machines and masks...might be worth it for some people. And some people just don't "do" internet shopping regardless....

Needs more research but it's a possibility.

My hubby is quite curious about the whole CPAP idea and is sharing my experience with all the docs he knows...pulmonary and ENT. It gets kind of irritating actually. The other evening I decided I was going to read in bed. And I was tired. And my reading position turned out to be lying flat in bed...so I went ahead and put on my mask and CPAP. I figured well, if my throat closes when I relax in a reclining position....I might need it. And I might just decide the heck the with book and fall asleep anyway, so I'd be all ready to go. (Remember without CPAP my oxygen levels fall to 50 and 60%!). He was just FASCINATED by this thought process, lol. When I, uh, ok I'll admit...SNAPPED at him..he said, you don't understand. Most doctors think that CPAP is a hideous treatment and compliance is almost an impossible thing to ask of someone. And here you are voluntarily putting the stuff on to READ.....

They just don't understand how important the equipment and masks are to compliance...

Jan in Colo.

Colorado Jan, your husband sounds like a caring and dedicated doctor that wants to help his patients and provide for their needs. But many doctors out there are not like that. As one who's been on the receiving end of doctor's bills and "it's all in your mind" doctors, I have to say that my first inclination is to mistrust a doctor who has just diagnosed me with sleep apnea and then pulls out his brochure to sell me the treatment equipment. Sorry.

Well, Ramona, the beauty of it would be if they don't want to use that facility, they don't have to. It wouldn't really be that much of a money-making enterprise that the docs would need to push it. More of a break-even sort of thing, at least that's how we are envisioning it. The benefit to the doctors is higher compliance and they are perceived as having a more "state-of-the-art" practice....

Oh, who knows what will come of this. May even blow the whole thing off, but they are building a new sleep center across town which is in the planning stages, so now is the time to ponder new ideas...

jan in colo.

Oh, and by the way, I certainly have been on the receiving end of doctor and hospital bills.....

I had a hysterectomy this summer. I am STILL battling the hospital..I keep getting billed $20,000 "because I do not have insurance". Well, I do have insurance and I showed my card to them for every stupid test and and bloodwork and pre-op thing they wanted to do. Since receiving the bills, I have faxed the hospital three copies of my insurance card, as well as mailed them several copies with the bill. And then two weeks later? Another bill for the $20,000 and a threat to send it to collections.....

Funny thing is...my husband is on staff there. I've been on the phone with them and can hear him being paged in the background! It's crazy.

Jan in Colo.