Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

[News] THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
#1
Thumbsup 
THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
It's a start...

Quote:New York Passes Nation's First Electronics Right-to-Repair Law

New York becomes the first state in the country to pass historic legislation that would make it easier to fix your things.
After a multi-year battle, New York has become the first state in the country to pass an electronics right-to-repair law, a historic win for consumers and independent repair shops across the U.S., not just in New York. The move has the potential to seismically shift the power balance between consumers and electronics manufacturers.

The bill overwhelmingly passed the state senate on Wednesday by a vote of 59 to 4. It passed the Assembly Friday afternoon by a vote of 145-1. It will now go to Gov. Kathy Hochul for final passage. The bill is the most expansive consumer rights legislation to pass in the United States in recent memory and is the result of countless hours of grassroots campaigning from consumers and consumer rights groups. 

The legislation, called the Digital Fair Repair Act, covers all consumer electronics and will require companies to sell repair parts and tools and to provide repair documentation to consumers under “fair and reasonable terms.” Companies like Apple and Samsung, as well as medical device providers, video game companies, and electronics trade organizations have spent years and thousands of dollars lobbying against this sort of legislation in New York and all over the country. 

In recent months, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and Valve have begun to semi-voluntarily sell certain repair parts and offer repair guides to consumers after President Joe Biden suggested that the vast majority of companies’ existing policies were illegal or were monopolistic. Right-to-repair advocates like US PIRG, iFixit, and Repair.org have said those voluntary policies were a step in the right direction, but do not have the force of law that the Digital Fair Repair Act will have.

I see a court battle ahead over proprietary information and trade secrets, especially on medical devices, but ultimately replacement parts will be pushed outward. The biggest opposition is likely to be the industry-captive FDA which has argued in the past against the unauthorized repair of medical devices.
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
That’s great. It would be nice to be able to buy a replacement motor for the Resmed A10.
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
Hard to imagine the FDA would approve of end users to repairing a prescription medical device.

But it would be pretty great to extend the life of machines, even if it requires repair by a certified tech.
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
In theory it sounds like it would benefit users being able to replace parts easily.  But they would probably price the parts so high it wouldn't be cost effective to replace anything.
Jeff8356

MacBook Air (2017, Intel) | macOS Monterey (12.7) | OSCAR v1.5.1 | VM = Win10/Win11 |
How to Links:
Installing OSCAR on a Mac
Organizing your OSCAR charts
Attaching screenshots and files for the forum
OSCAR Help
OSCAR - The Guide

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
And John Deere will be intractorable...
Apnea Board Monitors are members who help oversee the smooth functioning of the Board. They are also members of the Advisory Committee which helps shape Apnea Board's rules & policies. Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
There was another recent similar action in Massachusetts addressing automobiles. The above post and link relates only to electronic equipment and only to NY state, and only addresses hardware. While it is of major
interest to owners of sleep apnea devices selling for $1,000+, it applies to all electronic equipment without regard to its purpose or function. If you're in NY state and your stereo suddenly blasts its final chord, you have the right to get repair parts and documentation on how to do the repair.

Manufacturers have spent zillions on lobbying to defeat such legislation, and so far have been successful at the federal level. But now we're seeing it at the state level, and it may be impossible for industry lobbyists to continue blocking the legislation. The thing to watch for is federal legislation to nullify all such state laws, surely soon to be proposed in the US Senate. I make comments here related only to US legislation, but I definitely invite related comments from elsewhere. If another country has done better I'm anxious to hear how they did it.

It will be interesting to see how individual manufacturers address this issue. Will Samsung refuse to sell stereos in NY state? And how could they not sell products in NY state, considering nationwide sellers, eBay, Amazon, etc?

There are lots of questions, and it will be many years before the final shoe drops.
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
We are entering, to quote a popular phrase, "a brave new world."

The obvious manufacturer's response to unfavorable legislation would be to reduce the number of parts into an integrated whole where repair did not make as much sense as a replacement. We see this on some automotive ECUs (Electronic Control Units) where small-scale parts are physically glued to a board or encapsulated with epoxy, making repair at the component level impossible. As for larger-scale items, such as motors, the cost factor could be the decisive decision-making factor. Another response could be managed obsolescence where components degrade at similar rates, obviating repairs in favor of replacement.

As in software, where SaaS (Software as a Service) provides a continuing revenue stream, manufacturers could simply provide a device that they guarantee could be repaired or replaced at a near-instantaneous rate. Thus you are shipped the new version and return the old one in the same package -- or the old one is permanently disabled with a microcode flash -- destroyed and discarded -- after the new one comes online and passes certain validity checks.

I believe the legislation, in the case of medical devices that need calibration, is aimed at small private repair facilities which could require manufacturer certification at a cost before accessing parts, tools, and schematics. In the case of integrated electronics, no schematics, trade secrets, or proprietary information would be exposed. Patents and manufacturing scale might prevent knock-offs -- but then again I bought an O2 sensor made in China for US$25 instead of a list price of $125.00.

We will wait, watch, and see -- and perhaps be amazed and amused with how fast the politicians insert loopholes as they whore themselves out to industry lobbyists.

In John Deere's case, I believe the real issue was that you needed special diagnostic devices before you could even order parts.
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
Going back--My Sleep Doc (since retired) said that by adjusting pressure on my Respironics brick I was practicing medicine without a license here in Ontario Canada.

Back then I had to see my DME Supplier to download my machine. to see the DME Supplier, I had to phone the sleep doc's office and arrange an appointment with the doc. The DME supplier was 1/2 owned by the hospital the doc worked at. Credit Valley Hospital. After that appointment they would prescribe a pressure increase and send me off to the DME supplier. Total control. These were bad old days. Treatment was awful.

I became active here. To resolve this I bought a used ResMed S9E from a colleague at work who abandoned cpap treatment after a couple of months of sporadic use. So I downloaded the clinician's manual, and went along the healthier path. By this time the sleep doc would schedule visits every 17 months, and I didn't have to bring the "Brick" to him to prove compliance.

It feels to me like the Respironics action recently is pushing us all back to this horrible path. I understand that the SD card in the new Respironics machines can't be read by us yet. Why do this? Market share I think. Sleep docs will prescribe machines to un experienced customers that they know can't be read by the customer. Will ResMed do this too?

In Ontario Canada the standards for compliance and treatment are awful. AHI < 5.0 is sufficient. 4 Hours of machine use a night is required. That's compliance. Sure doesn't make me feel better....

DaveL
DaveL
compliant for 35 years /// Still trying!

I'm just a cpap user like you. I don't give medical advice. Seek the advice of a physician before seeking treatment for medical conditions including sleep apnea. Sleep-well

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php..._The_Guide

Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
(06-06-2022, 09:35 AM)DaveL Wrote: I understand that the SD card in the new Respironics machines can't be read by us yet.

OSCAR 1.4 is nearing release, and it can read the cards, at least for now.
Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: THEY ARE COMING FOR RESMED AND OTHERS
Good news. Thanks
DaveL
compliant for 35 years /// Still trying!

I'm just a cpap user like you. I don't give medical advice. Seek the advice of a physician before seeking treatment for medical conditions including sleep apnea. Sleep-well

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php..._The_Guide

Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  [CPAP] Solvent smell coming from new Airsense 11 ducknoir 22 7,233 03-06-2024, 07:06 PM
Last Post: Teddyg
Question [News] RESMED CHANGES COMING? srlevine1 6 989 12-30-2023, 12:31 PM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
  Centrals coming back Gperry 9 692 12-05-2023, 12:23 PM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
  6+ of CPAP, but symptoms are coming back for some reason terrytorres 7 638 09-22-2023, 10:01 AM
Last Post: sauerkraut
  Are my symptoms even coming from sleep apnea? OSCAR attached apmea 8 866 08-23-2023, 12:25 PM
Last Post: Dormeo
  Does anyone know of new cpap masks coming out this year? Jimnyc2000 9 1,051 06-08-2023, 07:53 PM
Last Post: Bostonsnow
  PLEASE help with settings for ASV coming tomorrow. OSCAR data attached. hopeforusall 41 2,353 06-08-2023, 05:24 PM
Last Post: Sleeprider


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.