S9 AutoSet vs A10 AutoSet

[GeoffD]

I changed jobs/insurance. My old DME wouldn't take my new insurance so I had to change DMEs. Because I was caught in the gap, I replaced my rental S9 AutoSet with a clone from Supplier #2. My new DME likely has both the S9 AutoSet and the AirSense 10 AutoSet. I get great results with the S9. AHI is usually around 0.1 to 0.3 per hour. It's really unusual for me to have an AHI more than 1. I'm totally familiar with the machine.

I travel for business. The S9 and humidifier fit just fine in my roll-aboard. I've never seen an A10 but it appears to be a bit smaller since the humidifier is integrated.

The A10 seems to have an integrated GSM data modem. I'm not really wild about my DME having access to my machine once the insurance compliance period is over. I had a bad experience with my last DME changing settings on me. I read them the riot act and handed them their GSM modem back. I guess I can find a menu setting on the A10 to disable it.

So... This seems to be a decision of going with what is known to work flawlessly for me versus going with the latest & greatest. I'd welcome some opinions since I'm having a tough time making a decision.

[me50]

well if you were almost finished with your rental of the s 9 auto it might have been cost effective to just pay out of network with your new insurance company I personally like the S9. I don't have any experience with the A10 because it is so new and my machine is only a year old but just like with vehicles we would never buy a vehicle that was in its first year and we waited until the bugs were worked out of it I personally don't like the fact that they can anytime no matter how long you had the machine can look at your data change things excetera excetera from what I've been told I have no clue if that can be disabled or not it's a decision that you'll have to make based on how important your privacy is to you and we don't have very many things in our life now the the government and other people don't have access to and at this point in time I'm not willing to give up what little privacy I do still have and yes I realize it's not much

[me50]

well if you finished with your rental of the s 9 auto it might have been cost effective to just pay out of network with your new insurance company I personally like the S9. I don't have any experience with the A10 because it is so new and my machine is only a year old but just like with vehicles we would never bar a vehicle that was in its first year and we waited until the bugs were worked out of it I personally don't like the fact that they can anytime no matter how long you had the machine can look at your data change things excetera excetera from what I've been told I have no clue if that can be disabled or not it's a decision that you'll have to make based on how important your profecias and we don't have very many things in our life now the the government and other people don't have access to and at this point in time I'm not willing to give up what little privacy I do you still have and yes I realize it's not much

[archangle]

You can set "airplane mode" in the patient menu and the cell modem will be turned off. Supposedly it stays turned off until you turn it back on. I guess it could get accidentally turned back on somehow, or maybe there's some sort of big brother turn itself back on trick.

The A10 is larger than the S9 without humidifier, but smaller than S9+humidifier. You can get an optional endplate to use the A10 without the humidifier, but it's still a bit larger.

I consider A10 vs. S9 to be about a tossup right now, because the S9 has such a good track record and there aren't a lot of obvious advantages to the A10.

The A10 AutoSet for Her model has a few advantages over the AutoSet. It detects RERA and can operate in the normal or "for her" auto mode.

[Mr. Van Winkle]

I changed jobs/insurance. My old DME wouldn't take my new insurance so I had to change DMEs. Because I was caught in the gap, I replaced my rental S9 AutoSet with a clone from Supplier #2. My new DME likely has both the S9 AutoSet and the AirSense 10 AutoSet. I get great results with the S9. AHI is usually around 0.1 to 0.3 per hour. It's really unusual for me to have an AHI more than 1. I'm totally familiar with the machine.

I travel for business. The S9 and humidifier fit just fine in my roll-aboard. I've never seen an A10 but it appears to be a bit smaller since the humidifier is integrated.

The A10 seems to have an integrated GSM data modem. I'm not really wild about my DME having access to my machine once the insurance compliance period is over. I had a bad experience with my last DME changing settings on me. I read them the riot act and handed them their GSM modem back. I guess I can find a menu setting on the A10 to disable it.

So... This seems to be a decision of going with what is known to work flawlessly for me versus going with the latest & greatest. I'd welcome some opinions since I'm having a tough time making a decision.

Sounds to me you should stay with what you know, the S9, I know that unit is cheaper (older style ) they seem to always raise prices when new units come out, I only know the A10 which hasn't given me any trouble and it's what my DME had given me, As far as them having the ability to see my settings, I have not had an Issue with that at all, I even made some changes on the Clinical side and didn't tell them, but I get the impression it's a tool for them to use if the user is incapably of making the own changes (you know what I mean).
Anyway I think the A10 is a fine machine, but It's your choice.

[GeoffD]

Let me clarify a bit:

My previous DME wanted some outrageous amount of money to buy out my rental S9 AutoSet. Less than I could buy a new one for. I told them I'd happily pay the Supplier #2 used price of $400-something but they couldn't do it. I bought a new one from Supplier #2. It also included a 2nd humidifier and a non-ClimateLine hose that might be useful when running off a battery.

My new health insurance, Cigna, claims to pay 100% for durable medical equipment. My last health insurance, Aetna, paid 50% of a steeply discounted negotiated rate. My expectation is that I'll be getting a 2nd machine and all the accessories with no out-of-pocket cost. It will become my primary machine for at least as long as the DME is collecting and submitting compliance data. The DME told me it would be 6 months of compliance data. Aetna only wanted 30 days of compliance data.

The point is taken about not buying a first model year of anything. I might be forced to take an A10 if they don't have any S9 AutoSet models left but I think I'll opt for the S9 if I'm given the choice since I'm comfortable with it and it gives me interchangeable spare parts. I haven't heard any compelling reasons to upgrade yet.

[Mr. Van Winkle]

Let me clarify a bit:

My previous DME wanted some outrageous amount of money to buy out my rental S9 AutoSet. Less than I could buy a new one for. I told them I'd happily pay the Supplier #2 used price of $400-something but they couldn't do it. I bought a new one from Supplier #2. It also included a 2nd humidifier and a non-ClimateLine hose that might be useful when running off a battery.

My new health insurance, Cigna, claims to pay 100% for durable medical equipment. My last health insurance, Aetna, paid 50% of a steeply discounted negotiated rate. My expectation is that I'll be getting a 2nd machine and all the accessories with no out-of-pocket cost. It will become my primary machine for at least as long as the DME is collecting and submitting compliance data. The DME told me it would be 6 months of compliance data. Aetna only wanted 30 days of compliance data.

The point is taken about not buying a first model year of anything. I might be forced to take an A10 if they don't have any S9 AutoSet models left but I think I'll opt for the S9 if I'm given the choice since I'm comfortable with it and it gives me interchangeable spare parts. I haven't heard any compelling reasons to upgrade yet.

Sound like a good choice hope it works out for you.

[lab rat]

I upgraded from S9 to A10

I reckon it's better.