Hi all,

Does everyone who undergoes a cpap trial during their study go home with the mask?  I got sent home with a gel mask that I think is pretty expensive.  Makes you wonder if it's a sales pitch -- does the sleep lab also want to become your DME?

Hi Sleepydog,

Love your subject line.  They can't reuse masks so they might just have a super great policy of sending it home with you.  Whether the sleep lab is a DME provider really varies.  My personal experience is 50/50.  All the masks are expensive.  You need to find out if your sleep lab also provides equipment and if you have options to try on different interfaces.  Otherwise, enjoy the party favor!

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

sleepydog wrote:

Hi all,

Does everyone who undergoes a cpap trial during their study go home with the mask?  I got sent home with a gel mask that I think is pretty expensive.  Makes you wonder if it's a sales pitch -- does the sleep lab also want to become your DME?

Hi Sleepdog,

In short 'NO'.

I would refuse to pay for it and demand an explanation. If one really wants to go down the road of litigation it is a breach of your human rights to deny you a choice except where a particular product might be the very very best with no competition........certainly not the case with cpap equipment.

The bloody nerve of them.

Kind regards,

Daniel


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

Wish I had thought to ask....they used the nasal mask, chin strap then the FF mask.  I had my sleep study done at the hospital.  It was over a two night period and I was 100% covered.  I wished I had got to keep the FF mask they used because it was better than what I ended up with.  I didn't even think that they couldn't reuse them.  Of course I have been a walking zombie for years.  I wonder why they don't offer the masks to you?  You or your insurance have paid for the mask if it is considered disposable or unable to use on another patient.  Just seems really wastful considering how expensive they are.

sleepydog wrote:

Hi all,

Does everyone who undergoes a cpap trial during their study go home with the mask?  I got sent home with a gel mask that I think is pretty expensive.  Makes you wonder if it's a sales pitch -- does the sleep lab also want to become your DME?

I guess a couple of questions pop into my mind when reading this.

First, is it a freebie?   I'm guessing it was in your case.  If a freebie, I hope they're not just tacking the cost of it onto your bill that is paid by your insurance.
If it's not a freebie, then I don't think that is right, and maybe also for some of the reasons Daniel indicates.  

Second, does receiving a freebie mask hinder the patient's ability to get another as their first official mask, through their DME and insurance procedures?
In other words, would you still receive a mask along with your machine?  

As long as it's a freebie and given freely without any risk to your insurance and ability to get another mask right away, then fine.  Enjoy.
Actually, I wish that was standard procedure for a sleep lab.  They can't re-use it anyway, and it gives the patient a spare as well as an opportunity to compare it to the permanent one they select.   I guess I tend to be overly suspicious.  I remember feeling utterly vulnerable and confused during the whole sleep study process.  In that state, I could have sold my soul to the devil and not know it until later.
 
Let's just hope a freebie is a freebie is a freebie.
And Nette has a good point about how insurance pays for the lab mask already.  Good point, Nette!  Wish I'd thought of it!
Ok, sleep lab people, tell us........ those two or three different masks tried on me during my study, did my insurance likely pay for those?
Do they get tossed?  Sanitized and re-used?   Tell us, tell us!!


Linda

When I did my sleep study, she said they have several masks that I could try but she was going to start me on their most popular model, the Swift Nasal Pillows. I said fine, as I didn't know one mask from another at that point. In the morning she said I could keep it ( along with the bag, the extra pillows, and manual) as a spare because I'll probably get another mask with the CPAP machine. Since my insurance covered the sleep study 100%, I thought it was a nice touch to take the mask home.

When I got the CPAP (APAP in my case) I had my choice from many different masks, and I chose the Breeze Nasal Pillows so I would have something other than the Swift to try at home. I love the Breeze! I tried the Swift once since then but went back to the Breeze. It is nice though, to have more than one set of gear to use.

If you didn't pay out of your pocket for the party favor, be happy!

Thanks for the replies.  THe party favor didn't cost me anything -- everything was completely cover by my insurance.  I have no clue whether they'll wind up paying for the mask.  

Like some of you, I'm just pretty cynical.  I'd actually prefer that the lab wasn't a DME.  I just have a problem when medical testing, which should be completely objective, is combined with a profit-driven business, such as sales.  I just never want to hear, "Yes, you have apnea.  Now let's step into the showroom and talk about your options."

sleepydog wrote:

  .... I just never want to hear, "Yes, you have apnea.  Now let's step into the showroom and talk about your options."

Haha!
I'm not a good morning person.  If they tried that on me, they're likely to get kicked or cursed out.
Not to mention being subjected to my bad breath.

 

I'm starting to imagine that my visit with the DME is going to remind me of buying a car...

"So what's it gonna take to put you behind the hose of that shiny new apap?"

sleepydog wrote:

I'm starting to imagine that my visit with the DME is going to remind me of buying a car...

"So what's it gonna take to put you behind the hose of that shiny new apap?"

Bring an old garden hose and bicycle pump and ask them how much they'll give you for your trade in...