SleepMed service. Are they good?Hi

[DarciWantsToSleep]

hi again,

I am new to all this.  My doctor referred me to SleepMed for my CPAP equipment and I am having a hard time getting a hold of them. They left me one message, I have called back several times and left messages.  Am I being impatient or are they hard to get a hold of?

Thanks,

Darci

[Walla Walla]

Search online for SleepMed complaints and you'll find plenty of info on them.

[Sleeprider]

Darci, call your insurance for a list of in-network DME providers for CPAP. Call them and do some research, then choose the provider you want. They will obtain your prescription from the doctor and insurance authorization. Using a provider based on your doctor's referral has mixed results.

Try to get a Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset machine. See our Dealing With a DME wiki. http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...with_a_DME

[Fats Drywaller]

Yes, search for reviews before you commit to anything. For instance, on Yelp, limiting it to Sleepmed locations in California, I see reviews of 2, 2.5, and 3 stars out of 5. As with reviews of any kind, the details provided by the customers/patients/victims can often be interesting.

Sleepmed did my sleep study and were mediocre (yeah, about 2.5 stars). I didn't know until now that they're also a DME. Presumably they did your sleep study? Sometimes that fact won't be advertised (I found out during my study just by chance); Sleepmed is a subcontractor, and sometimes its clinics are integrated into other medical complexes. The one I went to is in a university's medical center and has that organization's name on it, so at first I was assuming that everything was owned & operated by the university.

If the doctor has any tie to Company X, then probably not a good idea to use Company X as a DME. The DME is theoretically supposed to be separate from the clinic & doctors to make financial conflicts of interest less likely. It's better to get DME recommendations from the insurer's patient-service reps.

However, it also depends on what other options you have locally. If none, then <shrug> go for it and hope for the best. If your insurance is covering everything and your out-of-pocket expense is minimal, then maybe it won't or shouldn't matter much which DME you use.

[DarciWantsToSleep]

Thanks again everyone! I feel so overwhelmed by all of this new information that I am digesting (last night I was reading about battery packs trying to see if I could get a one size fits all for my international travel for work and my backpacking for leisure). Instead of being like myself and researching then reacting I am just whimpering and complaining. Thanks again for your support.

Anyhow, I read my local yelp reviews, got the name of the local customer service rep, talked my way through the very cranky front desk woman (maybe she needs to sleep too) and got an appointment on January 4th.