[Equipment] Registering a New CPAP with Your Sleep Physician

[whitejr1127]

I returned my DreamStation to the DME that provided it and shut everything down (rental, supplies) with them.  I then purchased a new ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV myself from an online supplier.  I got the machine.  Set it up.  Connected to ResMed's myAir.  Then I sent the Serial Number (SN) and Device Number (DN) to my physician to make sure he could download my data.  He said "Unfortunately, we do not have a way to access your new machine. The access has to be given by the selling company."  So, I contacted the online supplier and they contacted ResMed to make sure my SN and DN were cleared and able to be assigned.  I reported this to my physician asking them to get set up to download data.  They responded "We only have the ability to download data, I cannot add you unfortunately. Once you are set up with a new DME company they should be able to add you and then provide us access to the unit."  I responded that I don't have a DME, that I bought the machine myself, I don't need, or plan to get, a DME as I will order supplies myself.  They responded:  "The software we have is only to access the data of patients who have been assigned to us. The assigning comes from the DME. I cannot add you. At most right now I can download an SD card if you have one. If we get you set up with a local company for supplies, they may be able to assign the machine to us, I am just not sure if they will considering they are the one who provided the machine. All we can do is ask."

I am at a loss.  What does "assigning a machine to the physician" mean?  Can I do it?  I asked my former DME about assigning the machine, and they say they could not since they didn't provide it.  

Any thoughts/insights would be appreciated.  It feels like I am being forced to have a DME in the middle of everything, something I am not interested in doing.

-- John

[Crimson Nape]

Hi whitejr112!  -  

Why not get an SD card and take it to your doctor's office?  Or, when I started out with my S9, I would print out my reports and email them to the doctor.

Another thought; Since you bought the ASV yourself, there isn't any compliance requirement. Why do you need to send the reports to the doctor?

[SarcasticDave94]

Correct, you can create your own reports with OSCAR, an SD card, and then show them to Dr. Dolittle. The only thing these reports will help with is to allow doc to add them to your patient file, proving it's medically necessary for your treatment. If you're like others here on Apnea Board, we're going to suggest how to set your ASV for your specific therapy requirements, leaving doc to do little, which might be what he prefers.

[Sleeprider]

From your first day using Oscar, we can help you to interpret the data. I agree with Crimson Nape's suggestion of taking your SD card for any appointment. A doctor with a subscription to AirView can add a patient, they just rely on a DME to do that service and probably pay a fee to them. If you know who that DME is, you may be able to have them subscribe your machine for your doctor, however since you did not buy the machine from them or plan to buy supplies, it may be reasonable for them to charge a service fee.

[whitejr1127]

Thanks, Crimson.

I do have an SD card ... and I have a reader ... and I have generated (and sent to the physician) an OSCAR report of the first 12 days. So I can certainly get the data to him. With my first machine, I saw my physician after three months. I had printed out some reports before I went in, but he already had everything he needed. I thought that was pretty cool and wanted to enable that again. But at the end of the day, you are right. There are no compliance issues. I can certainly make sure he sees SD card data periodically to make sure all is going well with my therapy.

I think it's just that I thought this "registration" step would be straightforward, and it wasn't.