Should Sleep Dr Choose DME for me?

Pugsy wrote:

archangle wrote:I don't believe Encore Viewer will install on a 64 bit windows machine without some extra tinkering.

This is true. Something in the install Wizard setup.exe fails on the 64 bit computers.
If someone can simply open the disc and manually copy/paste the files and folders to a folder on the desktop and use the application exe file to open the program it works just fine. I did it on my new 64 bit computer. Didn't take but a few seconds to get it up and running. I don't use it but I could if I wanted to.
The problem is with the install process with the install Wizard. Bypass the Wizard and put it on the computer the old fashioned way and it will work just fine.

I had heard of a workaround, but I thought you had to install on a 32 bit machine and then copy that to the 64 bit machine. Your way is much simpler if it works.

archangle wrote: I had heard of a workaround, but I thought you had to install on a 32 bit machine and then copy that to the 64 bit machine. Your way is much simpler if it works.

I had read this also. Sounded like a lot of work to me and you know me...lazy.
So when I got this new 64 bit laptop last summer I just thought I would try the easy, lazy way first before going to the old 32 bit laptop and doing all that work. It worked perfectly..no need to even turn the 32 bit computer on. The only problem might be if someone doesn't know how to open the disc to view the files and copy/paste them without triggering the setup.exe install wizard thing. I was completely done in a very short time and that was only because of the copying to desktop folder time for 77 MB of files. Maybe a minute. The SD card holds all the old data so nothing is lost by not copying the files from the 32 bit computer.

I'm on a 64bit laptop, so I'll start with Sleepyhead first. It looks like it does more anyhow. Archangle, good advice on double checking they don't try and stiff me with the Plus version. My prescription specifically says the DS450 so I'm going to make certain that is the one I take home.

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1. Know the precise make and model number you want.

2. Figure the wholesale cost of that item.(1)

3. Call your insurance company. Know precisely what they will spend.

4. Call sleep labs in your area. Including your local hospitals. Ask what DME they recommend and why.

5. Call that DME. If you can visit them, even better. Ask them some standard questions.(2)

BE FRIENDLY! You want to find the one employee that you shows some sparks towards you.

That will be your point of contact.

People who are rude or bored with you now won't get any better with time.

6. Must your DME be local?

If you can't find a good DME in your area, expand your search. My DME often ships equipment to me.

7. Must your DME be brick and mortar?

If they are, then you are paying for it. No two ways about it.

Consider online purchases from reputable online dealers such as, well, unabashedly, our host ma and pa run store.

What do you think their monthly server costs are? How do you think they get the money to pay for it?

Yeah, I know, they pluck it off the money tree.



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(1) And the reason CPAPtalk doesn't maintain a list of wholesale prices is . . .
(2) And the reason CPAPtalk doesn't maintain a list of standard pre-purchase questions for your DME is . . .

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After dealing with some DME issues myself I will add to Rocklin's list:

3. Call your insurance company. Know precisely what they will spend.

3a. Find out who ALL the in network providers are in your area
3b. Check out the licensing status / complaints with the state medical board or whoever licenses DME in your state. In Ohio it is: http://respiratorycare.ohio.gov/
3c. Talk to friends, co-workers. I was astounded on how many people I knew that were on CPAP! Their insights were invaluable.
3d. Check with the BBB or Angie's list or another consumer rating organization
3e. Most importantly: Be an informed consumer!!!

It has been stated before as well, The for profit vs. non-profit organization.
I prefer the Non-profit approach for these reasons:
a. I use Homereach which is a division of Ohio Health, a large non-profit hospital conglomerate in the Central Ohio Area. I think I get better service from them as well as centralized billing as I see mostly Ohio Health providers.
b. I also think that as a non profit they do more community outreach as part of the overall educational mission of the health organization. They have sent representatives out to local events to talk about sleep apnea and treatment
c. They have programs to purchase reconditioned machines at a lower price with a warranty for people that do not have insurance or a high deductible plan. My mother in law recently purchased a PRS1 CPAP machine and humidifier with 600 hours on it for $300 with a 1 year warranty. Better than the prices I have seen on craigslist and the machine has been cleaned and sterilized.
d. As a former Medical Meeting planner, I have never seen the non profit DME's visiting the doctor's offices and providing lunch to the entire staff. The for profit DME's are famous around here for that one.

These are just my opinions and observations. When PhRMA Code and the ethics sections took effect, the pharmaceutical reps got reined in on their lunches, gifts, and trinkets to the doctor's offices. This did not completely trickle down to the DME's. My wife works for a cardiologist and a certain national DME that starts with an L buys lunch for the office staff on a weekly basis. She very rarely gets anything from the Pharma reps anymore as they have to abide by the PhRMA Code now.

I finally have my CPAP. I had no trouble at all with the DME (Lincare). I showed up at the office, they had the model prescribed setup and ready to go. The guy was a bit condescending and insisted on explaining every little detail about the machine and how it operates, all the way down to how to push a button. I guess the have to do that for insurance/law suit reasons. I did have a co-pay of $124, and will be making $19 payments for the next 11 months, then the unit is officially mine. Their warranty is for 2 years "bumper to bumper". I assume that's pretty standard though. For a total of $330, not bad. Much less than I was expecting to pay.

The guy did say they will periodically send me an envelop with a replacement SD card and a self addressed stamped envelope for me to send in the old one so they can check my progress. I guess that's a good thing, unless I determine I should change the pressure. I will be checking the progress frequently. I've already installed Sleepyhead Software and tested the data download, all works well.

I still have a bit of a runny nose, so I'm not sure how well the nasal pillow will work tonight, I'm hopeful since I was able to sleep all night with a full face mask while on vacation without trouble. I'll report how things went in the morning. Off to efficient and steady sleeping!

xm41907 wrote:I finally have my CPAP. I had no trouble at all with the DME (Lincare). I showed up at the office, they had the model prescribed setup and ready to go. The guy was a bit condescending and insisted on explaining every little detail about the machine and how it operates, all the way down to how to push a button. I guess the have to do that for insurance/law suit reasons. I did have a co-pay of $124, and will be making $19 payments for the next 11 months, then the unit is officially mine. Their warranty is for 2 years "bumper to bumper". I assume that's pretty standard though. For a total of $330, not bad. Much less than I was expecting to pay.

Congratulations. Fill in your profile with the equipment you got.

There's a good chance some of your future dealings will be with droids located somewhere else in the corporate system, so you may have to deal with some stupidity from time to time, even if your local guy is good.