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→User DME Interactions
# My Dme works directly with the doctor and was super easy to deal with. Gave me exactly what the doctor ordered. They didn't do much to help choose masks but they did show me how to use the machine and spent 20 minutes with me. They went over the manual on cleaning.
# It seems overwhelming but it's really going to go smoothly.
'''User 4'''
Today was the start of my therapy so drove 35 miles to my new DME to get my new ResMed AirSence 10 AutoSet.
There were several new boxes piled on floor but he pulled one off a shelf that was in travel bag. I checked the power cord and machine and it looked used. I asked him 3 times if machine was new - he said yes. I asked him if he checked clinical menu “about” for time and he pretended to not know what that was.
I needed a good mask fit so went through process testing under pressure with me ending up with ResMed P10 nasal pillow.
Went home plugged in the machine and went into clinical menu and bingo machine had 1,359 hours on it. I immediately called and he said “it should have been new, must have been a mix up with machine in backroom, he will bring me a new one.”
Hell with that I drove back and traded after verifying I had a brand new machine.
It was no mistake - he lied and tried to give me a used machine with lots of hours on it.
Thanks to this forum and help on my first post that gave me the knowledge to be educated and not allow fraudulent DME cheat me & Medicare.
Thank you and warning to all new users.
'''User 5'''
It happened to me too. I remember picking up my machine and they said it was new right out of the box.
I didn’t see a box. Sad But anyway, I used the machine for 6 weeks before finding this forum. That’s when I discovered how dishonest some DME’s can be.
Out of curiousity, I looked at my machine hours and saw that that it had over 900 blower hours on it.
Of course they had erased the previous user hours. The machine/blower hours cannot be reset.
I called and told them what I found and that I would be in the next day for a new machine.
They argued with me that it was new, so I explained that I knew the difference between user hours and machine hours.
Dead silence on the phone. When I got there, they had the “new” machine ready. I asked if I could see the machines/blower hours and the tech seemed to struggle with how to find it. So I showed him. Sad
It really is a shame that some, not all DME’s are dishonest.
Bottom line....ask to see the units blower hours before accepting it.
Oh, and never accept their word that they will check your insurance coverage for you....do it yourself!
== Medicare and DME (for CPAP) ==
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