Australian CPAP Company is asking for Prescriptions

[holden4th]

After a long overseas holiday I was wondering where portable travel machines had got to and started grazing through CPAP sellers both in the US and here in Australia. I was astonished to discover that Supplier #22 (Australian) would not ship/sell a machine without medical clearance and I assume that this is a prescription. My understanding is that a prescription is not required here in Australia and trolling through the TGA website seems to back this up.

So my question - is this correct or have the requirements changed? I used the chat line for this supplier and their response was that all other "reputable" (their word, not mine) Australian suppliers did the same.

[ajack]

Nonsense. A phone call to another Aussie supplier would confirm this. There are cases of doctors, labs and suppliers working hand in hand. Did they offer a home or lab sleep study that they could arrange?

[DeepBreathing]

I think Holden is right - there are a few dealers who require a prescription. One that comes to mind is CPAP Australia Supplier #13. However they are a subsidiary of Resmed. (At least I presume they are as they share the same address).

From my enquiries previously there is no law or regulation requiring a prescription. However dealers here are like dealers anywhere - they will tell you what they have to to maximise their profit. I once had one tell me it's illegal to import a CPAP. Ajack may be right that there could be a cross-selling of services going on here, which is not ethical and may not be legal if not declared.

[ardenum]

I bought my VAuto directly from resmed, no Rx. What you need to tell them is that you want to buy a machine with factory settings. That's the magical phrase.

This is because when you get a machine from a DME with a Rx, there are settings on the Rx specified. This is the part of legislature that's causing this problem. They are not allowed to setup a machine without the doctors notice. That's why you want it 'as is' with 'factory settings'.

[holden4th]

Thanks for your replies as they back up my understanding of what's required in Australia. In the online chat I sort of asked if Resmed made this a requirement for them to sell their machines but this got deflected. I'll do some further research and that includes an email to another CPAP seller (not on the suppliers list) who I've dealt with in the past asking them if a prescription would be required.

I think Crowtor's point that if you want the seller to put in your settings then a prescription would be mandatory so you ask for factory settings instead.