mistake by DME

So, about a month ago my husband had another sleep study, this time to see if he needed the ASV machine. Sure enough he did, and the DME was notified to provide the machine. Right away I noticed that the machine was set incorrectly, at least by my memory of what the doctor said.

The central apneas almost disappeared.Results were much better, even with the bad settings. Finally,at my insistence, he took the machine to the sleep doctor's office for review, but all they did was print a summary for him to take to the DME. He called to ask for a copy of sleep study and prescription so we could see what was wrong. When nothing arrived, he called again. Suddenly the DME calls to say they have a new prescription to send us via the data card. Someone woke up and actually looked at the settings.

Apparently they now had a brand new prescription dated almost a month ago. (??) This indicates to me that someone made a big error as the machine was given to him with bad errors in the settings.

I am not sure who made the mistake, but lots of phone calls have been made. We still do not have the copy of the study or the prescription.

I feel like somebody needs to be help responsible for the errors. What do you think?

Catnapper- Joanie

If you do not already know how to set the machine, it is in your own best interest to learn, and do so .
You cannot depend on the inept or disinterested to do "their job".
Best to put them out of the loop entirely until they start showing some interest in doing what they are being paid for.

You have a legal right to a copy of all your sleep studies as well as any prescriptions.
You will need to go to the doctor's office and make a request.
Be prepared to make the request in writing.

Your equipment list shows an auto BiPap and not an AutoBiPap ASV.
Which is it?

You will need the providers manual for your machine.
You should be able to get the correct one from the Apneaboard.
With Encore Pro you should be able to look at your own data as well as your machine settings.
After the upload, select Detail, set the date range, and view.

JDS74 wrote:Your equipment list shows an auto BiPap and not an AutoBiPap ASV.
Which is it?

Catnapper has the Auto BiPap model 760. It's her husband that has the BiPap Auto ASV and that's who she is talking about here in this situation.
They are a 2 xpap family...he got the ASV because of centrals.
She has Encore as well as SleepyHead ( I think ).....I don't know about the provider manual though as I haven't been able to find a 960 manual but I got her pointed to the 950 clinical manual which should get her real close.

While you may be able to navigate these treacherous waters, for the sake of those who can't, I think it's a good idea for the responsible party (or parties) to accept responsibility just to hopefully make them pay more attention in the future. If there is an incompetent or unethical employee, their employers should be aware. The very least they can do is acknowledge the error to you and let you know they have taken steps to correct their processes, though they may be too into coverup mode to ever acknowledge it. Hope things improve with your hubby's treatment from here.

Apneaboard has an 960 provider manual. Whether they send it out or not is another issue.

Get a copy of what they do and learn all you can about your machine. Communicate with your sleep Dr and learn how to adjust your own settings. It's your right to know and to know how. DME s think patient settings are sacred info .

Have confidence - own your settings!

In this day and age, it is reprehensible the fear and doubt sewn by the professionals around simple settings of an electronic device. Seemingly to prop up a poorly performing service industry and to place blame.

If you can operate a computer, smartphone, or tablet well enough to read and post here, rest assured you can input a prescription from your sleep doc into a *PAP device.

Thanks for the comments.

I would not hesitate to "adjust" my own machine and have done so for 8 years. My husband is the one with the ASV and he still has to prove compliance for Medicare to pay for it. The ASV has more settings than just the auto bi-pap. If I had the prescription, I would change it and that is why we asked for the copies of the study and the prescription.

I think the DME sent out the machine with improper settings and now tries to blame the doctor's office. When the DME called to tell me about the new prescription, I asked for the settings and they match what the doctor told us a month ago.

Somebody made a mistake and nobody wants to be responsible. If I had not been looking at the results on my home computer I would not have known about it. I feel so lucky to have the software to check it. Yes Pugsy, I have both the Encore and the Sleepyhead.

Once he has completed his 30 days of compliance, the DME checking should be done. The doctor will let me set the machine because he knows I have done it for my own machine all along. I like him and trust him. I believe the DME set it wrong. The so-called "new" prescription has the date of the study. Not new at all.

Actually, my whole family uses one kind of cpap or another. What a club!

Catnapper - Joanie

JDS74 wrote:Apneaboard has an 960 provider manual. Whether they send it out or not is another issue.

It's not listed with the 60 series machines and the only one I see listed for ASV would be for the 950 model
So I haven't told anyone to ask. Normally they update the available list pretty good.

Let the doctor know the settings were wrong in the first place. It's the doctor who refers his patients to this DME who needs to intervene. Most patients are sheep who never come here to learn about their own care, learn about their efficacy or how to check settings and data. They blindly trust the doctor and DME. So if the doctor isn't aware the DME screws up, there's no checks and balances for the sheep.