DreamStation 2 and Oscar

[rogerded1]

Hi
I just received a replacement cpap from Phillips. The Dream Station 2 advanced. I seem to remember from months ago that Oscar was not able to read the encryption of the files on the SD card.  I have been  reading through the search results for this question and have come up dry.  Am I imagining that Oscar can't utilize the SD card yet or is it presently true?
Thanks
Roger

[pholynyk]

OSCAR still can't decrypt the DS2 SD card. The OSCAR team is working on it.

In my personal opinion, the DS2 is unfit for intended purpose, if you intend to monitor and control your own therapy.
That may make a difference in some jurisdictions.

[bobsroka]

OSCAR still can't decrypt the DS2 SD card. The OSCAR team is working on it.

In my personal opinion, the DS2 is unfit for intended purpose, if you intend to monitor and control your own therapy.
That may make a difference in some jurisdictions.

I queried Respironics and got this reply:

Good morning Robert Sroka, 

While I cannot speak to Oscar as that is not our software, I can say that with the DreamStation 2 machines, we have moved away from patients being able to read the SD cards themselves (the SD cards can still be read by your doctor and medical supply company though).  So that is likely the cause of why Oscar cannot read the data but I cannot say for certain. 

From your reply to the initial post it seems that the Oscar team is aware of, and is trying to correct, the deficiency. Is that right?  Any notion of timing?

[rogerded1]

To be polite this whole thing has be disappointed.  The Dream Station 2  is a cheap piece of plastic that I don't see holding up.  Servicing the humidifier involves unsnapping plastic tabs that definitely are not going to stand the test of time.  Limiting the customer from their date is throwing road salt into the wounds for me.  At least its not as noisy as the Resmed S9 my provider graciously loaned me. They didn't have a humidifier for it so i only tried it a few nights. It sounded like a leaf blower.  I'm still on the fence on which Dream station to send back to Phillips.

[Carmine]

To be polite this whole thing has be disappointed.  The Dream Station 2  is a cheap piece of plastic that I don't see holding up.  Servicing the humidifier involves unsnapping plastic tabs that definitely are not going to stand the test of time.  Limiting the customer from their date is throwing road salt into the wounds for me.  At least its not as noisy as the Resmed S9 my provider graciously loaned me. They didn't have a humidifier for it so i only tried it a few nights. It sounded like a leaf blower.  I'm still on the fence on which Dream station to send back to Phillips.

I came to this board seeking information on Oscar and my new Dream Station 2 Advanced for exactly the same reason.  Oscar cannot read the card.  Nothing seems to happen.

My opinion of the machine is the same.  The humidifier is much more difficult to clean and fill.  The hose coming out the front is much more inconvenient.  This machine was designed by someone who was more concerned with aesthetics and design NOT functionality.

Why would they limit our ability to read our data?  It is our data, not theirs, nor even our physicians.

Carmine

[ScottZZZ]

I replaced my ~9yr old PR System One last month.  I told my Sleep Doc and DME that I would NOT accept a Dream Station.  The Sleep Doc specified "Resmed" in the Rx, and I ended up with an Airsense 11.

Lots of people are saying "never again" to PR due to the recall and I understand that, but I also suspect the recall is costing PR enough ($$$ and reputation) to make them uber-careful with future materials choices.  So the recall alone would not have deterred me from buying one of their newer machines.  

HOWEVER....   Having access to *MY* data was a RED LINE.  If they won't let me see/analyze the data, I will take my dollars elsewhere.

There is of course some legitimate concern about people modifying data files to subvert compliance requirements, but there are other ways to ensure the data hasn't been tampered with (for example, separate checksum files similar to what Resmed does).  Encrypting the data serves only to deny patients (customers) information -- which I see as an act of utter contempt and disrespect.  Of course they don't view patients as their customers...  PR views the DME as their customer, and the DME sees Insurance companies and Medicare as their customer.  I think they all view all of us as cattle.  

I wrote to Respironics and explained that my last 3 machines were PR, but they've lost my revenue -- entirely because of their decision to encrypt the SD card data.  That is probably a wasted effort, but if they hear it from enough people to suggest lost sales ($$$) then perhaps they might rethink encryption on their next series.

[rogerded1]

I'm not a lawyer but are they violating the cures act by denying us access to our data?  https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/fede.../cures-act

[Neelix]

Based on what I read on the page you just linked to I'm thinking probably not,  because the data in question is stored on the device itself and thus probably counts as " interacting within your certified module."  If I'm understanding that correctly though, then whatever data gets sent back to PR by your DS2 and is stored on their servers they have to provide back to you upon request (if they can't find a loophole to avoid it)

That being said I am not a lawyer, so your mileage may vary.

-Neelix

[stewart11]

I've been using the Dreamstation 2 for the past week and though it works OK being blind to the data is just not acceptable. It would be nice if that great OSCAR team could give us some kind of estimate as to whether or not they think they'll crack the Respironics code any time soon.  If it really looks hopeless I'm going to junk the Dreamstation 2 and buy an Airsense 10 or comparable machine. 

Incidently, my DREEM 2 headband is no longer useable and I see that the Paris based company says they are no longer available in the US,  Bummer,, it was so great to see the actual sleep state data from the EEG.  Made it clear that none of the wrist based systems are measuring anything remotely like your actual sleep state.

[ScottZZZ]

I'm not a lawyer but are they violating the cures act by denying us access to our data?  https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/fede.../cures-act

Also not a lawyer....  But I think the act applies only to "health care providers", and Resmed would fall outside that -- they are just the manufacturer of equipment used or directed to be used by health care providers.  (See definiition below.)

Once a doctor has the data, they have to provide it "in some form", but even then there would be question of "in what form" (detail vs summary) and "how often".  

(3) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term ‘health care provider’ includes a hospital, skilled nursing facility, nursing facility, home health entity or other long term care facility, health care clinic, community mental health center (as defined in section 1913(b)(1)), renal dialysis facility, blood center, ambulatory surgical center described in section 1833(i) of the Social Security Act, emergency medical services provider, Federally qualified health center, group practice, a pharmacist, a pharmacy, a laboratory, a physician (as defined in section 1861® of the Social Security Act), a practitioner (as described in section 1842(b)(18)© of the Social Security Act), a provider operated by, or under contract with, the Indian Health Service or by an Indian tribe (as defined in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act), tribal organization, or urban Indian organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act), a rural health clinic, a covered entity under section 340B, an ambulatory surgical center described in section 1833(i) of the Social Security Act, a therapist (as defined in section 1848(k)(3)(B)(iii) of the Social Security Act), and any other category of health care facility, entity, practitioner, or clinician determined appropriate by the Secretary.