DME angst

[SarcasticDave94]

They didn't like your belligerent attitude that disrupted their standard procedure methods when dealing with people that haven't bothered to be educated on your apnea needs and/or facts about what is needed.



PS they expected you to be the same as everyone else

[Crimson Nape]

Just a side thought; If the laws in your state allow you to record the conversions with this DME, I think I would so you have tangible evidence if any further claims are required.

[SarcasticDave94]

Just a side thought;  If the laws in your state allow you to record the conversions with this DME, I think I would so you have tangible evidence if any further claims are required.

[SuperSleeper]

Wish it would have been recorded and you could upload the MP3 file to the forum so we all can be edukamated.

[Fats Drywaller]

They didn't like your belligerent attitude that disrupted their standard procedure methods when dealing with people that haven't bothered to be educated on your apnea needs and/or facts about what is needed.

I really do think that some DMEs (which is to say the people who own & operate the places and the other people who are employees of the managerial greedhead bunch) deliberately take advantage of many of the patients and try to exploit 'em just as a matter of routine, because they're seen as easy pickings.  One way is to try to bully the patients into paying out-of-pocket for something that should be covered by insurance.  And I guess the most common way is to push a machine that has a higher profit margin for the DME and say "We can't get that other one, so you'll have to take this instead."

With the Baby Boomer demographic bulge well into retirement now, it has been common for many years to see various senior-exploitation scams being used by greedheads all over the place.  There are phone scams, mail-fraud scams, and door-to-door scams in addition to (of course) e-mail scams.  I've seen a few of all kinds going on, and I say to myself "Why isn't this stuff stopped dead in its tracks by the powers that be?" (in the USA, that'd be the Attorney General's office in each state, etc.), but I also know that trying to kill it is a never-ending job and there are never enough resources.

I've seen a cute one in the Mail Fraud category, going on for years.  A ripoff artist buys the subscription lists of various popular magazines that are generally subscribed to by old folks, and has his computer print zillions of automated renewal notices to mail out, with the official-looking bills having absurdly high prices and directing the subscribers to make checks payable to his impressive-sounding company name and mail 'em to his post-office box.  Then (I assume) so as not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs he sends in actual renewals at the actual, much lower costs to the magazine publishers.

Another one that's similar is to send out official-looking notices saying that the victim's vehicle registration has lapsed and there's a penalty charge, so make your check for the fine payable to <whatever> and mail it to <wherever> and we won't haul you in to court, you're welcome.

[Homerec130]

Talked with my sleep doc the other day and told him what I would like for a machine (not a Dreamstation) and told him the preferred DME and the reason why - they have served me quite well for 6 years. Even gave him all the information in writing. He said we can do it. 
Found out from the DME the machine I want is their preferred machine. Seeing as I have a working machine, I am not pressing too much at this point.

Used to work in a gov't facility where all calls were recorded. If we really wanted to intimidate we would use a beep line. Most of the time we would use a non-beep line as we were tired of listening to it. I was working in command and control at the time and all calls were recorded.

Homer

[zzzlessinMS]

I was tempted to have my cell phone recording when I go pick up my machine. But it is a healthcare facility and you can clearly hear the conversations of other patients asking questions about their health problems and devices. That would be a violation of the other patients' privacy and I couldn't do that.

I was interested in what was being said to another patient. They were told that in "the olden days" you had to take your SD card into your doctor but the modern way was having your data automatically transmitted every morning via built in cell phone.

No way in hell would I agree to that. The machine is only transmitting compliance data to DME. The DMEs then call these new patients struggling to adapt to CPAP every day they missed the minimum 4 hours telling them they will have to take away the device if they don't comply. They even disable function of machine remotely on day 31 if failed compliance. I read all about it on another forum. Pretty Draconian.

[Fats Drywaller]

I was interested in what was being said to another patient.  They were told that in "the olden days" you had to take your SD card into your doctor but the modern way was having your data automatically transmitted every morning via built in cell phone.

They can do that with the S9 series also, but fortunately only if it has the optional plug-in wireless module, which is rather obvious:



The A10 series, including Aircurve, has the cellular modem built in, so it's not obvious what's going on.  The modem can be disabled softwarily by putting the A10 into "Airplane mode" and keeping it there indefinitely, or it can be disconnected internally.

The patient is required to let the DME get at the compliance data somehow during whatever compliance period the insurer has set.  When that's over, the modem can (and in my opinion always should) be disabled or removed. With the PR Dreamstations, it's a separate unpluggable module, similar to the S9's but hidden away.

Poor Tony Schmidt, who had an A10 but downgraded to an S9, didn't know that because he wasn't using apneaboard (yet), I guess.

[Crimson Nape]

FYI: ResMed used the cellular modem to push a firmware update shortly after the A10's release.

[SarcasticDave94]

"All calls are recorded and monitored for quality assurance." That automated voice phrase was what callers heard while trying to get me on the last job, which was a credit card call center. I was tech support for 3 systems of internet processing, shopping carts, etc. Maybe the DME customer ought to incorporate that phrase and back it with actual recording to maintain "quality" and "integrity". Admitted, it would be a first for some of these DMEs to have a dose of quality and integrity. But hey something has to cause it to snow again this month.