How Much Do You Trust Your DME?

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:54 pm

Perhaps I should clarify with an example:

If you asked for the best machine, without giving specifics or letting them know that you were educated in the matter, how close to one of the better APAP's do you think you would get?

PS: Just for the record; I have no horse in this race, and I didn't use a DME

th · Post by th » Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:59 pm

Where is... I hope I never see them again
th

Snoozin' Bluezzz · Post by **Snoozin' Bluezzz** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 7:45 pm

I'd like better than a used car salesman but less than most other businesses.

SB

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 7:54 pm

Don't ya just hate it when polls don't have the resolution ya want. Sorry about that. (Edit mode doesn't apply to polls.)

Regards,
Bill

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 8:02 pm

Mine wasn't too bad, Lincare, I don't feel they went out of their way to mess me, the costomer up.

They didn't have to, their business model could have been set up by the three stooges, Not one hand in the house had any idea of the others were doing. They sent people out twice to check my O2 pump, two weeks after they had picked my O2 stuff up, The three months I was using it they never checked it. They tried for three weeks to read the smartcard, they never got it done and I had to threaten them to get my card back.

I go there personally when I need something and stand there in their way until I get what I need, then I leave.

notsorested · Post by **notsorested** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 8:21 pm

Like a used car salesman . . . or less! I might be jumping the gun a bit though. My DME billed over $2,600 for my equipment (almost six weeks ago); the exact same equipment costs just over $600 on cpap.com. (I bought my own Aura, as the nasal mask the DME gave me made me bleed under the nose.) I haven't been directly billed by the DME yet, but (surprisingly) my online insurance claim says they were not a preferred provider, so they can bill me the additional $1,100 plus dollar difference. I had no idea they weren't preferred. (I know, that's my fault.) I'm learning the same lesson many others have though. My opinion will change if they agree to accept the insurance's allowable amount for preferred providers. Even then, they will be able to collect twice as much as cpap.com!

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 8:41 pm

Welcome to the forum, notsorested. Thanks for participating. Hope things turn out better than your projection. Rest assured that you'll know better how to deal with them from what you learn here.

Regards,
Bill

notsorested · Post by **notsorested** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 9:05 pm

Thanks nighthawkeye. My best friend is a hawkeye. (He's from Demoines--even went there with him once. Nice city.) I've been lurking for a long time. I'll pay the price. . . but not as much as I would have paid had I not come across this site. I would have given up quickly with the mask they gave me. (The DME said the Doctors all start patients off with this mask, because the pillows can't handle the pressure should it need to be raised.) I also ordered one of those Ausie heated masks because of testimony here. See, even people who don't speak up benefit....

Darth Vader Look · Post by **Darth Vader Look** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 12:18 am

My first DME (rated at the same as a used car salesmen) wanted to talk to my sleep doctor about revoking the APAP prescription because in his opinion it was something that was not needed for any patient. I had gone through the first month trial period with a straight F&P 233 machine. It's kind of shocking to go in and find out that you know more about OSA and it's treatment than the person fitting you up. Just another reason to dump that supplier and try someone else, which is what I did. My second DME fitter was much better and even volunteered the clinicians manual to me. She told me that they didn't make much by selling Auto's and is why they prefer to sell straight CPAP units. She was more like a business person.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:00 am

notsorested wrote:(The DME said the Doctors all start patients off with this mask, because the pillows can't handle the pressure should it need to be raised.)

Welcome to the board notsorested. Hope you get better rest as time goes on.

As for the DME's comment - there's a lot of ignorance out there amongst the very professionals who are supposed to know "what's best" for people prescribed CPAP. No wonder the dropout rate for cpap users is so high. Lucky are those who find their way to support message boards.

Actually, I'm being generous in calling it "ignorance." The alternative is that they know better and are deliberately steering people to the less suitable interfaces they can make the biggest profit on.

At least a used car salesman wouldn't discourage people from buying a more expensive car! The used car salesman wouldn't be saying, "Oh, no, you don't want one with power windows. Best you look at these that crank." LOL!

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:04 am

I added another vote for the "Better than most businesses" because my DME is CPAP.COM......and while they don't deal in walkers, oxygen, wheel chairs, etc. (like the storefront DME's), for what I needed (CPAP equipment), they are the very best.

Had I purchased my equipment locally, my insurance provider and I would have paid about 3 times the price that we paid to CPAP.COM and would have gotten "lesser" equipment.

I don't begrudge the local DMEs for making a LITTLE more profit because they do have a lot of overhead and many other types of equipment that they cover.....BUT, stupidity and spewing false information to their customers is uncalled for.

The local DMEs that I have spoken with over the last year SEEMED to be fairly knowledgeable in what brief conversations I had with them......but I'm not casting a vote for THEM.

Den

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:07 am

Wulfman wrote:I added another vote for the "Better than most businesses" because my DME is CPAP.COM.

LOL. Outsmarting the pollster, eh? I'll try to close loopholes next time, Den. (not sure that's possible though)

Regards,
Bill

PS: I'm with you, Den, about CPAP.COM. It's just that I was thinking of them as an alternative to DME's.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:12 am

Typical polllster......trying to "slant" the questions so they'll get the outcome they want..... HA!

Have a good one, Bill.

Den

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 6:08 pm

I trust them to give me the best info they have...the problem is I don't think they have much good info. The RT couldn't answer my first question...or my second...so I stopped asking questions. It's why I visit this forum just about every day. It has been a great resource for a "newbie".

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:55 pm

I gave the lowest possible rating.

Used car salesman have a much lower profit margin and only take one for one item......