Does your DME ever...

My DME always sends me my supplies in the original packaging. My hose and filters usually come from Care mark, Resmed mask in a sealed package. My old DME Lincare would send in their own branded package. My wife's swift Fx came with only the small size. That is why we switched to a hometown DME that is honest and I get good service. When I had my C5-C7 fusion I got a letter from United recommending if I needed durable equipment I choose Apria or Lincare, I promptly threw that letter away!

akcpapguy wrote:Sure Matt,

Resmed, Respironics, Fisher & Paykel, Invacare, Pruitan Bennett, Covidien, Cardinal....just for starters.

Do you purchase them "in bulk" like that directly from the manufacturer? Or through some intermediary?

If through an intermediary, how do you know where the intermediary got them from, and under what conditions?

How would you know how many "hands" literally as well as figuratively, these unsealed bulk collections of nasal pillows passed through before reaching your store?

How would you know they weren't collected after single use at a sleep study center or hospital and just cleaned off or sanitized?

Nate

NateS wrote:

akcpapguy wrote:Sure Matt,

Resmed, Respironics, Fisher & Paykel, Invacare, Pruitan Bennett, Covidien, Cardinal....just for starters.

Do you purchase them "in bulk" like that directly from the manufacturer? Or through some intermediary?

If through an intermediary, how do you know where the intermediary got them from, and under what conditions?

How would you know how many "hands" literally as well as figuratively, these unsealed bulk collections of nasal pillows passed through before reaching your store?

How would you know they weren't collected after single use at a sleep study center or hospital and just cleaned off or sanitized?

Nate

We buy straight from the manufacturer.

akcpapguy wrote:Yes we do this all the time for various CPAP (and other product lines) supplies that come packaged in large quantities. Things that some to mind are nasal pillows, mask seals and filters.

Wouldn't these all be "GENERIC" & NOT the Name Brands (ResMed, PR, etc.) supplies?

EDITED to add:
I see you may have answered that already.
That is why it is always a good idea to read through all of the posts before replying to one early in the sequence.

I suppose the smart thing to do is ask the manufacturers if they do indeed sell supplies in bulk pack.
Although it seems inappropriate for personal contact medical equipment, especially at the price per piece.
I generally trust akcpap's statements; however when I think of the poor quality of pillows and cushions,
any corner-cutting by at least one company is completely plausible.

DiverCTHunter wrote:Give you your supplies in Zip-Loc™ bags with their logo sticker stuck on them?

"I" would personally NEVER buy anything that did not come in a factory-sealed bag (Brand name or Generic).

And most of the time, I do NOT accept any GENERIC brand supplies.

Medicare & my secondary (BC/BS) will pay the SAME amount for the Manufacturer's brand, so why should I accept a Generic.

I DO find that the Manufacturer's brand is usually a better quality (especially the filters).

StuUnderPressure wrote:

DiverCTHunter wrote:Give you your supplies in Zip-Loc™ bags with their logo sticker stuck on them?

"I" would personally NEVER buy anything that did not come in a factory-sealed bag (Brand name or Generic).

And most of the time, I do NOT accept any GENERIC brand supplies.

Medicare & my secondary (BC/BS) will pay the SAME amount for the Manufacturer's brand, so why should I accept a Generic.

I DO find that the Manufacturer's brand is usually a better quality (especially the filters).

You can buy a machine to vacuum and heat seal many places. My butcher has one and will vacuum pack the meat in any cut or cold cuts for me while I watch. You can even get them for home use. Don't assume just because the bag is sealed that this was done in the factory.

BlackSpinner wrote:
You can buy a machine to vacuum and heat seal many places. My butcher has one and will vacuum pack the meat in any cut or cold cuts for me while I watch. You can even get them for home use. Don't assume just because the bag is sealed that this was done in the factory.

OK, I guess I should have been more specific.

Sealed by the manufacturer IN bags with the manufacturer's name, logo, etc. on it.

Yes, I guess that could be easily forged also, but I am NOT talking about plain old UNMARKED bags vacuum sealed by someone.

StuUnderPressure wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:
You can buy a machine to vacuum and heat seal many places. My butcher has one and will vacuum pack the meat in any cut or cold cuts for me while I watch. You can even get them for home use. Don't assume just because the bag is sealed that this was done in the factory.

OK, I guess I should have been more specific.

Sealed by the manufacturer IN bags with the manufacturer's name, logo, etc. on it.

Yes, I guess that could be easily forged also, but I am NOT talking about plain old UNMARKED bags vacuum sealed by someone.

I'd even accept heat-sealed by the DME with a statement of the manufacturer lot number, sterilization (or sanitation) method used and a way to trace back to the tech who sterilized/sanitized them.

On the other hand, given what I've seen of the DME's building, I'm betting they're splitting out the "unnecessary" components from factory-sealed refill packages and billing them per-item instead of per-pack. Betcha this is perfectly legal, too.

DiverCTHunter wrote:

StuUnderPressure wrote:

BlackSpinner wrote:
You can buy a machine to vacuum and heat seal many places. My butcher has one and will vacuum pack the meat in any cut or cold cuts for me while I watch. You can even get them for home use. Don't assume just because the bag is sealed that this was done in the factory.

OK, I guess I should have been more specific.

Sealed by the manufacturer IN bags with the manufacturer's name, logo, etc. on it.

Yes, I guess that could be easily forged also, but I am NOT talking about plain old UNMARKED bags vacuum sealed by someone.

I'd even accept heat-sealed by the DME with a statement of the manufacturer lot number, sterilization (or sanitation) method used and a way to trace back to the tech who sterilized/sanitized them.

On the other hand, given what I've seen of the DME's building, I'm betting they're splitting out the "unnecessary" components from factory-sealed refill packages and billing them per-item instead of per-pack. Betcha this is perfectly legal, too.

"I" personally would NEVER accept any supplies that had been actually touched by anyone (even if they were again resealed in something else).

You just can never tell what procedures were followed (if any) to keep everything sanitized.

StuUnderPressure wrote: "I" personally would NEVER accept any supplies that had been actually touched by anyone (even if they were again resealed in something else).

You just can never tell what procedures were followed (if any) to keep everything sanitized.

There is wonderful invention called soap and hot water that does amazing things. It has been around for a few centuries now.

Here's a cut and paste of something I wrote in a similar thread last summer. It's an incident that happened to me. :
"Ha, ha... I had to laugh at the factory heat sealed bag assurance - Soooo, here's some more gasoline tossed on the fire. Many years ago, I worked for a very short time at one of the big box consumer electronic stores. It's no longer in business and after reading the following, you'll probably understand why. When stuff would be returned by the original buyer (they did have a very liberal return policy) like computer cards, software or devices, whether broken or simply the consumer was not pleased, the item would most likely get a quick inspection, a wipe-down of fingerprints, then end up getting resealed in the original bag or another clear plastic bag. The resealed bag and taped up box would then go back on the shelf to be resold as absolutely new. This practice was extremely common with video games... you almost couldn't find a truly new game in the store! A bag sealer unit is a cheap item to buy online and anyone can make an old used product look 'factory sealed' in about one minute. I'm sure most mask makers, DMEs, PR and ResMed etc don't do such reprehensible things, but it is possible for a shady operator to get away with. Let the buyer beware"

At least with a zipper bag and the DME's logo, there is some defense against accusations of fraud.

BlackSpinner wrote:
There is wonderful invention called soap and hot water that does amazing things. It has been around for a few centuries now.

I'll stick with DiMethyl-Benzyl Ammonium Chloride and DiMethyl-Ethyl Ammonium Chloride (the active ingredients in Control-III, Hydrocyde, Barbicide and a bunch of other disinfectants), thanks.


edit: Misspelled Hydrocyde.

DiverCTHunter wrote:I'll stick with DiMethyl-Benzyl Ammonium Chloride and DiMethyl-Ethyl Ammonium Chloride (the active ingredients in Control-III, Hydracyde, Barbicide and a bunch of other disinfectants), thanks.

Where can you get these disinfectants?