My provider and my MD aren't speaking. I can't figure out why.

May 19, 2019 10:13 AM

I recently changed insurance (due to a job going away), and I'm having trouble getting my CPAP equipment in a timely way.

What the CPAP provider requires is a)copy of the sleep study and b)the prescription. The first time I called the doctor's office I don't remember beyond the reception clerk promising to put a note in the nurse's callback file (standard procedure), the second time the reception wondered if the fax number to the provider was correct, and the third time...There shouldn't be a third time, should there? My over-used nose pillow(s) are leaking already and I also read one shouldn't over-use the tubing, etc as it can eventually disintegrate and tiny particles can go into the lungs (please tell me this is an urban legend). Isn't there a reason hat you change out every so often?

My doc and her call back nurse are usually pretty great and efficient, and have been with a number of things. What would be a good way to get her attention and convey the importance of this?

posted by intrepid_simpleton to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

Go to the office. In person. First thing in the morning. Bring donuts. Explain very nicely that you have reached it twice about this and now it is urgent. You will not be able to leave the office until you have confirmation that the fax was received.

In this conversation you’re not mad, but you might use the words worried and disappointed. You refer to everyone by name and not as ‘the nurse.’ You might have to set aside an entire morning for this because it’s entirely possible there has been turnover at the practice and your nurse is gone or the person in charge of sending faxes (usually not the nurse but sometimes it is the nurse) is buried under outgoing faxes. Also sometimes someone sets up ten different faxes and doesn’t remember to verify that they went through. Which is bad if the receiving line was busy or the number was mis dialed.

All of these things have happened to me as an office worker in medical offices.

Trust me on the donuts.
posted by bilabial at 11:11 AM on May 19, 2019 [8 favorites]

Does your doctor have a patient portal system? Send a direct message to them or to the nurse who does callbacks. No more third parties/receptionists -- the more handoffs in a chain, the more likely the message will get dropped.

Or, ask for stuff to be sent directly to you. That way you send/take it to the CPAP supplier.
posted by basalganglia at 12:51 PM on May 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Yeah, if you've got the CPAP screw dealing with the supplier. I buy my stuff on Amazon- the price is often cheaper than the copay (especially if I haven't hit the yearly deductible) and stuff lasts WAAY longer than the provider leads you to believe (they make more money sending you four a year).
posted by noloveforned at 12:58 PM on May 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also, the tube disintegration thing is if you use one of those ozone generating CPAP cleaning machines (so don't).

Replace your air filters and you'll be fine.
posted by noloveforned at 1:07 PM on May 19, 2019

Are you sure it isn’t an issue on the end of the durable medical equipment provider? I ask because I’m the clinician on the other end who constantly deals with sending multiple copies of prescriptions and sleep studies to DME despite the fact that I have fax confirmation. Happens all the time. After many years of dealing with DME companies I have found most of them are not run very efficiently especially if they are national chains.
posted by teamnap at 1:43 PM on May 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

I am a nurse and call doctor offices frequently because their patients are referred to the outpatient clinic where I work.

1. Call the office and request a copy of your prescription and sleep study. Pick it up and fax it yourself.

or

2. Obtain the fax number where these two items are to be sent. Call doctor's office and ask if you can leave a message on the nurse's voicemail. On this voicemail, state your name, date of birth, and request that these two items be faxed to xyz for CPAP. Please and thank you very much. I leave messages on the "nurse's line" all of the time and things get done.
posted by loveandhappiness at 1:48 PM on May 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

For the immediate pillow issue: you need (in the US, anyway), a prescription for the machine and for complete masks, but you can buy the individual parts of masks lots of places, including Amazon. So buying yourself some time to figure out the larger issue by getting a new set of pillows might be worth it.

I've been using a CPAP since October (and reading multiple forums on the topic since) and lots of people do not change out their equipment as often as the DME replacement cycle. (Which is based on how often Medicare will pay for new ones.) Lots of people just change out when they notice problems (which is a good reason to clean and do a close inspection regularly, mind.)
posted by jenettsilver at 2:13 PM on May 19, 2019

I buy nasal pillows (and, much less frequently, replacement tube) on Amazon, not through any provider or doctor's office, and have been very pleased with the results. If I had to go back to buying those supplies through my doctor's office I'd be very annoyed.

Also - my nasal pillows started lasting 4x as long when I bought some of the cleaning wipes off Amazon and started using them each morning after I woke up. It takes seriously 5 seconds and saves me probably $20-30/month.
posted by hootenatty at 1:18 PM on May 20, 2019

Response by poster: Thank you all you brilliant people. I've ordered some parts on line which should hold me for a while until I can get the rest of it sorted out. Thanks, also, for assuaging my fears about possibly inhaling plastic.
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 11:27 AM on May 22, 2019