Have to Attend Unneeded/Wanted Medical Appointment Today!
As some folks are aware, I have sleep APNEA and have to use a CPAP device to sleep every night. If you are unsure what is Sleep APNEA and its dangers if this condition goes untreated then check out this article in my link. I started using the CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure device in early January 2013. I am still using the same machine I started with back in 2013. These machines work every night when used properly 7-9 hours each night all year long. Obviously this device will eventually wear out!
I had to endure a new sleep study last year as it is necessary per the medical regulations (Federal) to have a prescription to be able to buy a new CPAP machine. Really!! Why??? There is no good reason to have a new study. All sleep studies are very expensive running at least $2,000 and up per night. I had my new study done by the sleep institute which is owned by the medical group which my Internal Doctor belongs to as I thought this would make things easier to get accomplish! These folks also wanted me to of course do a 2 night study like I was a first time participant in this stuff. Silly me wanting to be efficient!
This sleep institute has to send out to a third party Pulmonologist to get the study (night of sleep data) analyzed as they have no one in their group to do the work. This was not explained to me by them. After many phone calls I did get the needed prescription to buy a new machine via the internet but it was like pulling teeth. I believe I shamed them into it. The new device arrived late November 2015 after I spent some time trying to a find machine which would work for me. The question to ask is are you using the new device? The answer is NO! The pressure of the new machine has to be adjusted. I forgot about this nagging detail and no one reminded me or understands how this medical nonsense really operates and or the steps to get it accomplished. What a mess..
My unneeded Doctors appointment today is to see a Pulmonologist who works for the group who did the study analysis. Did I mention it will take me at least 45 minutes to drive to groups office. They are a different group than the one my doctor belongs to. This crack group had NO record of ever doing my sleep study analysis.
This new Doctor I am sure will want of course to do a full examination of me which I will politely refuse. An examination of course comes along with a much higher fee than just a lousy prescription. All I need is for him to write a supposed prescription after he reads the study report his group wrote in the first place to adjust the the new devices air pressure which is way too high. It would be real easy to read the report and send me a prescription without having to have an appointment.
I am finished ? Not so fast Tonto..
Then I have to find some medical supply company to take the machine with prescription to actually do the work of adjusting the pressure. The medical supply company will not want to do this job as they want sell you or me a CPAP machine at a high over priced amount than what I purchased one for on the internet. The internet supplier is not allowed by law to set the pressure! Spare me! My guess is that it will take another 2-3 appointment to get the new pressure actually set. This has dragged on as I knew this whole experience would be gut wrenching and a huge waste of valuable time.
If you ever wonder why Medical fees are so high and cost spiralling out of control this is just one small example of total mumbo jumbo to just generate fees. Trust me when I say no one who does not need to use a CPAP machine will just out of the blue decide they want to experiment and use one. It take a long time to adjust to sleeping with mask on your face! All of this waste of time and money could be solved very easily but will not be..
Above is courtesy of Bing free to modify, share and use pictures.
Have to Attend Unneeded/Wanted Medical Appointment Today!
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