"please keep me updated about oximeters "
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Ideal Patient Advocacy /Lobbying Group
I know we have the American Sleep Apnea Association, and believe me, they have a hard job and have done a lot of good on behalf of Sleep Apnea patients. What I'd like to know is, irrespective of what the American Sleep Apnea Association is doing for patients, what should a patient advocacy/ lobbying group do on our behalf?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jan vanNiekerk t SnoringElephant on
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Information, support.
People who have even been diagnosed with sleep apnea don't go on the CPAP treatment.
People don't know about sleep apnea. I am currently liasing with the sleep professionals to set up a database of sleep apnea sufferers. We want the people to be able to sign into the data base and see who are sleep apnea sufferers close to them. We need to give support.
Each one of us need to help the new people.
Phone them ask how do you do with your machine.
Are you still using it?
What problems do you have?
There are alternative masks?
There are alternative machines?
People need to be advised. I was one with a machine, not knowing that there are alternatives to my machine causing sinus problems.
I saw somebody in the chemist looking at the snoring spray. Then determining her daughter
This is a mouthfull.
Thanks you guys.
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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I haven't been able to successfully autotitrate. I had another sleep study done last night to see if I am having central apneas.
I feel ok in the morning when I get up, but need a nap by noon. I can count and I know how I feel and I've never been able to get my AHI out of double digits.
Mary Z.
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Permalink Reply by Sheila Knowles on
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Rock Hinkle said:
Not very many labs do physician consults even though they are required by the AASM. There are many rules such as this that are not being enforced.
What does this mean? This rule....I saw a Dr. in the clinic attached to our hospital. I mentioned that I thought I might have sleep apnea, how i had a son who died from it at age 22, and he said.."Let's set you up for a sleep test". These are done at the hospital. This Dr. works strickly in the clinic...you cannot get an appt with him. The sleep study was done..results were given to me...and after this Dr got my results the CPAP machine was ordered and delivered to me. i never saw a Dr again after that. Who was I suppose to follow up with? My regular MD? The only Dr. that I see if I absolutely MUST is if i get a sinus infection or something? Was there a rule or a law that was suppose to govern whether there was any type of professional follow up on me once I left the sleep lab? BTW this Dr who ordered the test is NOT a sleep doctor either.
Just wondering..because it seems like there are some rules or guidelines that some places are suppose to go by and other places seem to just " wing it " any ole' way they like.
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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Prior to and after the study someone is supposed to go over things with you. This is one of many rules not enforced by the AASM. Tech to pt ratios are another. The rule states that a 1:2 tech to patient ratio is supposed to be in place. There are many accredited labs running a 1:3 ratio despite this rule. Why have requirements if you do not enforce them?
Sheila Knowles said:Rock Hinkle said:Not very many labs do physician consults even though they are required by the AASM. There are many rules such as this that are not being enforced.
What does this mean? This rule....I saw a Dr. in the clinic attached to our hospital. I mentioned that I thought I might have sleep apnea, how i had a son who died from it at age 22, and he said.."Let's set you up for a sleep test". These are done at the hospital. This Dr. works strickly in the clinic...you cannot get an appt with him. The sleep study was done..results were given to me...and after this Dr got my results the CPAP machine was ordered and delivered to me. i never saw a Dr again after that. Who was I suppose to follow up with? My regular MD? The only Dr. that I see if I absolutely MUST is if i get a sinus infection or something? Was there a rule or a law that was suppose to govern whether there was any type of professional follow up on me once I left the sleep lab? BTW this Dr who ordered the test is NOT a sleep doctor either.
Just wondering..because it seems like there are some rules or guidelines that some places are suppose to go by and other places seem to just " wing it " any ole' way they like.
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Permalink Reply by Rooster on
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Reply by Sheila Knowles on
reminds me of when Super Walmart came to our fair ' little " town.. We had a wonderful Brookshires Grocery Store..a quaint grocery called " Davids".and a VERY unique little shop called " Cheapo Depot". After Walmart moved in they were forced to close down. NOW... the only place to shop for things IS Walmart..and if you drive 20 miles to the next town..there are TWO more.. is this something like you are talking about or am I adding something absolutely useless as usual.. ( sigh..w/ slight grin)...
The case you reported has a very simple explanation. Residents of your "fair little town" liked shopping at WalMart better than they liked shopping at Brookshire's, David's, and Cheapo Depot. They went of their own volition to WalMart. Not a single sole was "bullied" to shop at WalMart. They most probably liked the much lower prices at WalMart which gave them more purchasing power. They may also have liked the wide selection of goods in the large store.
WalMart has been a big boon to the lowest income people in our society. Not only has it given them more purchasing power but it has provided employment.
If you want to talk about bullies, I can tell you about the time WalMart announced they were building a store in my excellent little town. I was invited to a meeting to organize to try to keep WalMart out. The meeting was in an immaculately-kept century old mansion in the highest income section of the town. Everyone that attended was in my estimate wealthy and all were well-connected in politics and business.
Now these were what I call bullies - they were searching the laws and trying to ally with local officials in any way they could to stop WalMart. These bullies would have stopped low income people from having access to lower-priced quality goods and more jobs. And before you tell me how badly WalMart treats its employees, you need to know that the morning they started taking employment applications there was a long line that formed two hours before the announced time.
Well the bullies did not stop WalMart. Today it is very popular both with customers and employees.
And WalMart did not put anyone out of business. In fact the area has boomed with several new restaurants, a bank, and a hotel.
So who really are the bullies? I say it is those who want to use political influence, wealth, and regulation to stop business and citizens from having whatever free interchange of products and money that they desire.
You have a similar situation in the CPAP market. Manufacturers and DMEs are using the regulations to keep out competition, limit new entrants into the market, hold prices high, and limit consumer choice. Strip the regulations, let the competition begin in earnest, and patients will see more choice, lower prices, more innovation, and higher quality.
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Reply by Rooster
The case you reported has a very simple explanation. Residents of your "fair little town" liked shopping at WalMart better than they liked shopping at Brookshire's, David's, and Cheapo Depot. They went of their own volition to WalMart. Not a single sole was "bullied" to shop at WalMart. They most probably liked the much lower prices at WalMart which gave them more purchasing power. They may also have liked the wide selection of goods in the large store.
WalMart has been a big boon to the lowest income people in our society. Not only has it given them more purchasing power but it has provided employment.
This was NOT the case with this town tho'. Everyone LOVED the Brookshire AND Davids..They still had lower pricesthan Walmart..and Brookshires choice of meats were far better than Walmarts. Davids' was smaller and easier to get in and out of and the senior citizens in our town LOVED it ( which we seem to have a LOT of). I didn't say Walmart bullied anyone out of town..just that when they came in other places initially took a big loss as people " tried out" the new Walmart. After the businesses closed the people wished they were still there and did nothing but complain about the Walmart.
Walmart DID supply more jobs tho' and I do see the benefit in them being here..just sad that they were able to close down several of the favorite places in town. A regular Walmart was situated in a strip mall with Walmart on one end and Brookshires on the other end and the Cheapo Depot in the middle.After they built the new Super Walmart The entire strip mall was empty for almost a yr. The novelty of the New Walmart Super Ctr wore off rather quickly tho'...I would rather see a Super Target move in and give Walmart some competition. My town has about 15k people tho'..the larger cities have a lot of competiton for Walmart so they don't loom so large and make people feel like they have a monopoly on EVERYTHING.
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Permalink Reply by 99 on
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have you heared the gyovarni story (sorry about the spelling) it is simmalar to the walmat story
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Reply by Sheila Knowles on January 29, 2011 at 3:58pm
I would rather see a Super Target move in and give Walmart some competition.
Well Sheila, you and I agree on one thing: competition and consumer choice are very good things.
I hope you get that Super Target soon and a new small specialty grocer!
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Just for the record. Walmart sells crap! Very little of their merchandise last. They do have good deals on food thoough.
The U.S. government pays out $1,557,000,000.00 in government assistance to Walmart employees nation wide.
Source "The High Cost of Lower Prices"
Rooster said:Reply by Sheila Knowles on January 29, 2011 at 3:58pm
I would rather see a Super Target move in and give Walmart some competition.
Well Sheila, you and I agree on one thing: competition and consumer choice are very good things.
I hope you get that Super Target soon and a new small specialty grocer!
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http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/stores3.html
Wal-Mart employs more people than any other company in the United States outside of the Federal government, yet the majority of its employees with children live below the poverty line. "Buy American" banners are prominently placed throughout its stores; however, the majority of its goods are made outside the U.S. and often in sweatshops. Critics believe that Wal-Mart opens stores to saturate the marketplace and clear out the competition, then closes the stores and leaves them sitting empty. Freedom of speech issues also come into play. Musicians are at the mercy of Wal-Mart's stringent content rules, forcing many to create "sanitized" versions of their albums specifically for the discount chain.
Full-time employees are eligible for benefits, but the health insurance package is so expensive (employees pay 35 percent - almost double the national average) that less than half opt to buy it. Another benefit for employees is the option to buy company stock at a discount. Wal-Mart matches 15 percent of the first $1800 in stocks purchased. Yet most workers can't afford to buy the stock. In fact, not one in 50 workers has amassed as much as $50,000 through the stock-ownership pension plan. Voting power for these stocks remains with Wal-Mart management.
91% of Walmart products are made in China or other countries. Walmart spends billions of dollars on getting these products to the states and sends no product back in their freighters. Yep they go back completely empty. Walmart is a big part of why are unemployment rates are so high.
Rock Hinkle said:Just for the record. Walmart sells crap! Very little of their merchandise last. They do have good deals on food thoough.
The U.S. government pays out $1,557,000,000.00 in government assistance to Walmart employees nation wide.
Source "The High Cost of Lower Prices"
Rooster said:Reply by Sheila Knowles on January 29, 2011 at 3:58pm
I would rather see a Super Target move in and give Walmart some competition.
Well Sheila, you and I agree on one thing: competition and consumer choice are very good things.
I hope you get that Super Target soon and a new small specialty grocer!
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http://www.google.com/search?q=walmart+employee+disputes&rls=co...
http://www.google.com/search?q=walmart+lawsuits&rls=com.microso...
http://www.google.com/search?q=walmart+and+the+epa&rls=com.micr...
I could do this all day!
You guys are right Walmart is the place we should get are medical equipment from. You can't even find an employee in the plumbing section that understands what he/she is selling. lmao
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The proof of the pudding is in the eating. WalMart builds huge parking lots and people voluntarily flock to their stores to make their purchases. When a WalMart is about to open, long lines form of people wanting to work there. Typically they get eight applicants for every job opening.
Many of their employees are single-mothers needing flexible hours. Many others are married mothers with children needing supplemental income from part-time jobs. Most of their employees have little education and little job skills. Where else could they work?
I am well aware of the criticism of WalMart and where it comes from. It comes from people who consider themselves above others and look down their noses at poorer, less educated people. It comes from people who have good jobs and discretionary income - people who don't care about the less educated, poorer people. People who would not concern themselves with where these people work and where they have a source of reasonably priced goods.
Reply by Rock Hinkle: You can't even find an employee in the plumbing section that understands what he/she is selling. lmao
Now I get to have a big belly laugh. Who the heck goes to WalMart to ask for consumer advice? ROTFL. That is not WalMart's game and all but the clueless know that!
Speaking of clueless, do you want to mention all the DMEs that have very little clue about the different models of CPAPs and their capabilities? That would be most of them.
And about those "Buy American" banners, WalMart dropped those in the late nineties because they were ineffective. Even the elite like buying foreign goods.
Your sources' assumptions about U.S. manufacturing are also dead wrong. Now that you have researched several columns written by leftist sources read a little further such as:
But manufacturing in the United States is not dead or even dying. It is moving upscale, following the biggest profits and becoming more efficient, just as Henry Ford did when he created the assembly line to make the Model T car.
The United States remains by far the world's leading manufacturer by value of goods produced. It hit a record $1.6 trillion in 2007 - nearly double the $811 billion of 1987. For every $1 of value produced in China factories, the United States generates $2.50.
U.S. companies have shifted toward high-end manufacturing as the production of low-value goods has moved overseas. This has resulted in lower prices for shoppers and higher profits for companies.
Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/business/worldbusiness/20iht-wbma...
Manufacturing is alive and doing very well in the U.S. But your beloved workers' unions are dying because of their corruption and their failure to adapt to new technology.
There are signs showing that U.S. manufacturing has begun to lead us out of the current deep recession.
Rooster, who loves his made-in-China Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 Trail Running Shoes and can afford them because they were made in China.
:0)
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