Whats a DME?

I see people talk about DME this and DME that,
Can some one please explain to me what a DME is and what it does?

A DME is a Durable Medical Equipment vendor. They are the place you get your xPAP machine, or mask, or whatever (if you aren't ordering those things online).

Sometimes it also refers to an employee of the DME (store).
This person may be a trained technician or just a salesperson--can be hard to tell.

If you get a bad one, they're a D*mn, Moneygrubbing Embezzler

Is there a topic for good/bad experiences with DME's?

I have been diagnosed, had my titration sleep study, and have a list of DME's in my area..

Have tried searching the boards for reviews on DME's, but its tough..

traveling Utz wrote:Is there a topic for good/bad experiences with DME's?

I have been diagnosed, had my titration sleep study, and have a list of DME's in my area..

Have tried searching the boards for reviews on DME's, but its tough..

Sorry, we do not give out names of good or bad DMEs here, as it would be in very bad form as we are hosted by cpap.com. Why don't you give your local better business bureau a call and see if they have any info on dmes in your area.

traveling Utz wrote:Is there a topic for good/bad experiences with DME's?

We can start here

When I got my sleep study, the doc prescribed to use the machine I have now. First, the DME gave one for trial (and sold me a mask I can't use anymore because it does not fit at a huge price). When I was about to purchase the machine, I was shocked by the price. After some research I found out that I can get exactly the same model online at less than 30% of the DME price... Best part of the story is when I told him that, he replied: I sure can give you some discount, but then we should not tell anything to the doctor.... clearly that doc gets some commission out of this

Now I get ALL my equipment online.

DME's to avoid (if you can):
--the one connected to the sleep lab
--the one where the place is full of scooters
--most national chains
--the one that has no place to lie down and test masks
--the one that won't let you try masks on in the store
--the one that has no stock--(has to order everything)
--the one that will only provide masks from one or two manufacturers
--the one that "can't get" or "never heard of" efficacy data machines
--the one that is not a CONTRACTED Medicare provider (if applicable)
--the one that won't tell you the price of anything until you sign for it
***are there any left? --the one that's "out of network" ; or 50 miles away --ROAD TRIP!

Thank you chunkyfrog..

That helps me with a list of questions, as I start to call the DME's.

I figured there was a reason why I didn't see many reviews for DME's.. Thanks for the info..

Some local outlets of chains may be exceptions, we have heard of them.
The consensus is they are scarce.
For specific bad news reports, please contact your Better Business Bureau;
which may or may not be useful, as many patients have no clue they've been 'had';
or are just too embarrassed to tell anyone.

chunkyfrog wrote:Some local outlets of chains may be exceptions, we have heard of them.
The consensus is they are scarce.
For specific bad news reports, please contact your Better Business Bureau;
which may or may not be useful, as many patients have no clue they've been 'had';
or are just too embarrassed to tell anyone.

The bolded is normally sound advice but I can tell you first hand in my case with my original DME that refused to work with me at all, I had filed a BBB report on them with a detailed description of the matter and how I was treated and some "big shot" of the company of whom I never spoke with wrote them back and said things like: "He was very familiar with my case", "I was offered to sign a patient consent to pay form if insurance didn't provide payment", ect... which was totally a lie as the employee I was dealing with had totally shut the door on me and refused to even consider providing me service based on my low AHI score and never once offered me any alternatives. In the end, I hadn't heard anything for weeks back from the BBB and finally logged into my case and seen they tagged my case as CLOSED & RESOLVED by the information filled with lies by the "higher up" of the company - not even considering my reply to that.

Just a word of warning how these DME's can wiggle out of even having any negative reports on file against them and still treat a person like shit.

traveling Utz wrote:Is there a topic for good/bad experiences with DME's?

I have been diagnosed, had my titration sleep study, and have a list of DME's in my area..

Have tried searching the boards for reviews on DME's, but its tough..

You could check out AngiesList.com, but you have to pay to join to get the ratings.