[News] RECALL THREAD-- IMPORTANT PHILIPS DREAMSTATION & SYSTEM ONE USERS

[StratCat48]

For those that have opened up their machines to remove the foam of death, do you know what the device pictured below is and why it's important if you may have moved or touched the PCB within the machine to get to the blower housing?

[Sea Papper]

A super fatty roach clip and don't lose it lanyard combo package?

Anyone performing, suggesting, or instructing a diy repair on a class 1 recalled prescription medical device must be higher than the Hubble freaking telescope. Toss those DeathStations into a dumpster and call a lawyer. Insist on a non-Respironics replacement.

[mrmagloo]

This thread is supposed to be about sharing INTEL about the recall. Sure have been noticing alot of snarky posts by people lately.

No doubt folks are upset about the sad state of affairs, but please try to remember that we are on the same TEAM here.

[SingingSam]

StratCat48, I'm sure the technicians will be given ground straps and probably respirators to protect themselves while working with the old foam.

Lives are at stake. That fact notwithstanding, the tasks of safely removing, replacing and testing are not rocket science. It isn't as if a skilled labor shortage is causing the delay.

Right now the FDA is a significant source of delay. In our collective annoyance with Philips we all should not lose sight of the FDA's culpability. They are practically 100% captured by the medical establishment.

Back to the details of the recall, the last 8 digits of my confirmation number are 01041035. I'm guessing that in the USA 1,041,034 machines were registered before I registered mine the morning of July 18. If so then possibly half of affected users in the USA are not aware of the recall.

Lawyers probably are doing a more aggressive job of promoting recall awareness than Philips. Shame on Philips and the FDA.

[WakeUpTime]

<< Just a reminder to everyone to try to avoid the use of Reply with Quote and duplicating an entire post/picture.  Not only do we all want pages to be more effective when browsing but we also want to avoid major interventions.  Regular font sizes are fine too, so we don't get into attention competitions.  >>

[btreger]

Taxes

First off I am not an accountant. So check this out for yourself.

Many people on this thread have asked how they can recoup out-of-pocket money they spent to replace their recalled Phillips machines.

This is what I found:

If you need to replace something lost to injury or illness with a medical device or prosthetic, it is considered a tax-deductible qualified medical expense.

For tax returns filed in 2021, taxpayers can deduct qualified, unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of their 2020 adjusted gross income. So if your adjusted gross income is $40,000, anything beyond the first $3,000 of medical bills — or 7.5% of your AGI — could be deductible.

Talk to a professional.

[archangle]

We are talking about very serious issues. Millions of people around the world are affected. You keep using yourself as an example, you are only one person, with only one set of skills.

In your Post #1252, you used these words:

might take some thought
I'm pretty sure
Probably a few glitches
I suspect 
I bet that
I'm a tech-smart guy

We are not talking about replacing a battery in a cell phone. We are talking about highly complex machines designed to sustain human life.

So, no matter how sharp you think you are, in the bigger picture of the seriousness of this recall. we would all like to know that our lives are in the hands of professionals that understand what failure really means.

That's the kind of problem ANY new CPAP repair tech is going to have in his training session.  Actually, that's the kind of problems an experienced repair tech is going to have the first time he works on a machine he hasn't worked on before. That's why you'd do the first few ones under close supervision and why you'd have a test procedure at the end.  

And, no, I'm not suggesting Philips should just hand some smart newbie tech guy some parts, tools, and written instructions.   He would need to do the first few under close supervision with an experienced person (and test equipment) checking it out after the repair is complete.

As for "highly complex machines," the Foamgate fix won't be that complex.  It's a blower, some air ducts, some foam, a few hoses and disassembling and reassembling the parts.  With a lead assembler/inspector/foreman, you could train almost anyone off the street to disassemble and replace the Foamgate parts.  The lead assembler and automated tests would check the work at the end and catch any errors.  After a day or two, they wouldn't need much supervision.

And BTW, no, I'm not going to fix anyone else's CPAP machine for them.  Nor sell or loan one I've opened up.

[Mustang 85]

Back to the details of the recall, the last 8 digits of my confirmation number are 01041035. I'm guessing that in the USA 1,041,034 machines were registered before I registered mine the morning of July 18. If so then possibly half of affected users in the USA are not aware of the recall.

The last 8 digits of my confirmation number is 01093984.  If your “guess” is correct then there were 1,093,033 registrations before mine. But I registered my machine on the morning of JUNE 18, a full month before you. I suspect the number has a different meaning, if it isn’t just randomly assigned and thus has no meaning at all.

[Kuutar]

An update on my end: I registered my device almost two months ago and finally received an email from Philips yesterday (I'm in USA). From the email: "Currently, we are processing the device serial number registrations that have been received and are actively working with global competent authorities on the remediation process. Our organization is working diligently to replace or repair devices as soon as possible. Based on current estimates of impacted devices worldwide, we are working towards completing this effort within approximately 12 months." 12 months! <insert eyeroll here>

[SingingSam]

Mustang 85, thank you for that feedback. You're right, the last 8 digits of the confirmation number are either random or have some other meaning.

Probably the latter, and Philips is as inscrutable as ever.

Sadly I misplaced my secret decoder ring about 5 decades ago.