![]() ![]() If you have Kaiser, your choices are to pay full price privately or use Apria. I told the RT's about it at Kaiser and they said that almost all patients who interact with Apria are unhappy, but patients have NO choice. It cost a bit because of postage, almost as much as my co-pay for a new mask from Apria would be, but &^%$% them-I wasn't going to let Apria collect more money from me and from Kaiser after that kind of treatment. I have my sample Swift from Kaiser, all I really wanted was the wraps that don't come with the sample. Of course, they have an obligation to make sure I have the right mask and it really doesn't cost them anything (except the damn UPS postage!) to replace it, but I didn't want to make the poor receptionist deal with my tirade because their tech would not talk to me (and I called the next day when I was calmer to let customer service know I thought her behavior was rude in the extreme). They wouldn't even talk to me directly about it-the tech at Apria relayed all this through the receptionist like playing post office. The mask Kaiser ordered for me didn't work (Kaiser didn't have a sample of that particular one) so Apria wanted me and Kaiser to pay for a replacement mask. And they wouldn't hand me anything there-they claim that their agreement with Kaiser requires them to mail everything. They even threatened it would slow down delivery of my machine because they would not set it up until they received payment. I'm trying not to put expenses on credit cards right now, so when it came time to make the co-payment for my machine I insisted on going into Apria to hand them a check and they were not happy about that. Kaiser does the rest of the work, Apria collects its money. The only interaction they ever have with you directly is when they demand their co-payments. They MAIL the machines and masks out via UPS, even if you live next door to the Apria offices. That means that Apria doesn't want to ever SEE the patient (the fact that Apria has some legally mandated responsibility to the patients doesn't seem to matter to them). I suspect that Apria gives Kaiser a great deal on machines and masks because 1) Kaiser does a HUGE volume of business with them and 2) Kaiser RT's do all the work that DME suppliers usually do for patients. The deal Kaiser has with Apria is the weakest link in this chain, IMHO. They do whatever they can to make it work for you (in the long run, treating OSA will save Kaiser money). They fit masks with you sitting up, but if you want to take 5 masks home to try and come back for more in a few days they are OK with that. They will give you as many samples as you need to find the right mask. They do all the mask fitting and have samples. They bend over backwards to make sure you have a mask that works for you, a pressure that works for you, and that you know how to use them. They communicate by phone, email or you can go in to see them by appointment. The RT's do all the work, but at my local facility they are WONDERFUL. Once your titration is done, the doctor will see the data (but the doctor will not see you) and prescribe a machine. If you are found to have OSA (probably 80% of those tested), you go back for a group class about OSA and then you are "invited" to take a CPAP machine home for home titration. They test probably 40 or 50 people per week using home testing equipment. Here at my local facility, they have a very busy sleep lab system. They do some things for OSA very well, though I'm sure it varies by facility.ĭid you know that if you are not happy with the care at your local center, you can ask for a referral to a sleep clinic at another Kaiser facility in your region? It's a pain timewise, but my daughter and I have traveled all over Northern California to access specific specialists and programs. Dement.I have Kaiser Northern California. Guilleminault, an early discoverer of obstructive sleep apnea and with Prof. During my fellowships, I studied with Prof. Van Cauter, a pioneer in the study of hormone circadian rhythms. I met Professor William Dement, here who developed polysomnography, currently still the gold standard sleep test. I am on the GMC specialist register, and my NHS clinics are at Queen Victoria Hospital and Guy ' s and St Thomas' Hospital.Īfter my MD as a Studientstiftung scholar in Germany, I completed my neurology residency and served as Chief Resident at the University of Chicago which is the cradle of sleep medicine. ![]() I practised as an attending (consultant) neurologist at Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, and ran their Northern California Sleep service. I am a Board Certified Sleep Specialist with postgraduate neurophysiology and sleep medicine fellowships from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Stanford, where the world's first sleep clinic was founded. ![]()
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