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Poll: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
This poll is closed.
No
42.67%
32 42.67%
Yes
57.33%
43 57.33%
Total 75 vote(s) 100%
* You voted for this item. [Show Results]

Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
#61
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
(01-18-2013, 10:18 AM)Shastzi Wrote: I think CPAP machines are a lot safer! How many deaths from using CPAPs to date?

Zero. At least as far as being the primary cause of death.

Contributing factor along with other causes over the long term? Yeah, probably.

Direct cause of immediate death? No stinkin' way.

Eat-popcorn
SuperSleeper
Apnea Board Administrator
www.ApneaBoard.com


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.


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#62
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
(01-18-2013, 01:05 PM)SuperSleeper Wrote:
(01-18-2013, 10:18 AM)Shastzi Wrote: I think CPAP machines are a lot safer! How many deaths from using CPAPs to date?

Zero. At least as far as being the primary cause of death.

Contributing factor along with other causes over the long term? Yeah, probably.

Direct cause of immediate death? No stinkin' way.

A quote from some far off website:

So given the secret of the clinician's setup mode would you suddenly become irresponsible? Untrustworthy and reckless? Bent on self destruction by way of CPAP machine? It could happen. But I don't think it will.
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#63
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
I blew up a balloon last week. The manometer showed 34cm of water for pressure. So
if you want a bigger balloon you have to exceed that value with your lung power.
My CPAP can only hit 20cm of pressure so, maybe you can pop the hell outta your ears or make yourself real uncomfortable but that's about it.
(assuming you have no medical contraindications)
Of course for the extreme examples there is some guy that blows up a hot water bottle until it explodes.
I don't think you kids should try that at home though.

Smile

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#64
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
(01-18-2013, 09:04 PM)Shastzi Wrote: I blew up a balloon last week.

BOOM! My but you're vicious.
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#65
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
I voted NO but this is only a NO for AFTER the initial sleep study and initial CPAP prescription to get started properly.
I do think an initial Rx is needed for when diagnosing and adjusting the first time. After that I think no Rx is needed because the patient can have the ability to determine if it is working and if re-supplies are needed.
Remember when you used to go to a doctor with a problem? The first thing the Doc asked was; "What have you done to take care of yourself?".
There is DME that could very well be detrimental to patients by not using it properly or by not getting the right type of supplies. CPAP is a very light type DME that can be tested at home and determined by the patient if it is beneficial or not. After all, you were living before you got the CPAP.
Rx for CPAP, as an ongoing basis, is just another means to make certain people more money and not really beneficial to the patient.
Learning how to adjust/change CPAP settings is really simple and easily tested at home by the patient. The recording, on the CPAP flash card and every CPAP should have one, is or can be used to verify usage.
Remember when you were asleep in your recliner and your spouse said;"wake up, you're not breathing!". Your body will tell you if the CPAP is working, or it will let you know when you are not getting air in the middle of the night because you will wake up and yank off the mask.
I am not a doctor and don't pretend to be one, but if you cannot take care of yourself then you don't need a CPAP. You need to be in a hospital. When I need a doctor I go to a doctor. When I need a bandage on my finger I go buy one.
Respectfully to all concerned.
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#66
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
I think if no rx is required that Insurance companies will not pay for them, and they will no longer be medical equipment. I wouldnt like that.
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#67
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
My DME wouldn't give me an APAP unless my Doctor sent in a prescription. The original perscription on file from my Doctor just said CPAP. So I had to call my Doctor and explain that I felt it was the better choice for me, since my titration study only had a little over an hour of sleep from me to give a pressure number. Long story...I couldn't sleep. It turned out I was right in that the sleep study said I should be on a straight pressure of 9, but the APAP I am currently using sometimes goes up to 12. I was lucky that my Doctor agreed, but I had to pay for an upcharge of $150.00, because my insurance wouldn't pay for the extra cost of the APAP.
I believe that most patients have the common sense to know what is best for them.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
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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.
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#68
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
(12-31-2014, 07:02 PM)roe1549 Wrote: I believe that most patients have the common sense to know what is best for them.

I believe that patients who are on this forum do, but other members of my family who are on PAP therapy can't, won't, aren't - and IMO these are the majority. sadly.

If they become non-prescription equipment, your "up-charge" will be full price, and the quality of machines will go down as profits decrease. If you have a Dr that doesnt understand the benefits of an APAP, changing Drs is a good plan Smile
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#69
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
(12-31-2014, 07:07 PM)DariaVader Wrote:
(12-31-2014, 07:02 PM)roe1549 Wrote: I believe that most patients have the common sense to know what is best for them.

I believe that patients who are on this forum do, but other members of my family who are on PAP therapy can't, won't, aren't - and IMO these are the majority. sadly.

If they become non-prescription equipment, your "up-charge" will be full price, and the quality of machines will go down as profits decrease. If you have a Dr that doesnt understand the benefits of an APAP, changing Drs is a good plan Smile

Agree with you entirely. I forget that before I found this Forum, I was clueless! And you are right...even though I don't feel you should have to get a prescription after the initial pap machine, I fully understand the insurance fiasco.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
OSCAR Chart Organization
How to Attach Images and Files.
OSCAR - The Guide
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing therapy
OSCAR supported machines
Mask Primer



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.
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#70
RE: Should a prescription be required for CPAP?
(12-31-2014, 07:07 PM)DariaVader Wrote:
(12-31-2014, 07:02 PM)roe1549 Wrote: I believe that most patients have the common sense to know what is best for them.
If they become non-prescription equipment, your "up-charge" will be full price, and the quality of machines will go down as profits decrease. If you have a Dr that doesnt understand the benefits of an APAP, changing Drs is a good plan Smile

I think respiratory ventilators and sleep apnea equipment should be prescribed because it is medically necessary. The disconnect occurs because the DME business model imposes an equipment supplier that includes para-professional services and for-profit equipment sales, that triple the costs, compared to a normal retail sales of prescribed equipment or medications using the pharmacy model.

I don't need a "therapist" to set clinical menus I now more about than they do. I don't need someone to fit me for a CPAP mask that I know will workp, and I can resupply filters, hoses, masks and other equipment just as I can refill a prescription medication as needed and allowed by my insurance schedule.

Those of us with high deductible/ and copay insurance don't need or want a bureaucracy to impose itself between us and the equipment we need, at triple the cost! We can do this at a lower cost, with higher efficiency using "retailers" and the free market.

Most of us can take our prescriptions to a drug store, or sleep store and buy exactly what we need at a lower cost to insurance and ourselves, and have a vested interest in our treatment. First time users maybe not, but anyone that has been doing this for a while is competent and should be enabled to use their knowledge to save money. Most of us have been prescribed medications that are dispensed by a pharmacy...how is CPAP different?

The issue is not just whether equipment should be prescribed, but how it should be dispensed. The problem is using DME services, rather than the online or pharmacy retail dispensary.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
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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.
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