Today, April 24, 2019, OSCAR is born. The baby is subjected to many tests and apparently healthy enough to be shown to the public and given …
OSCAR version 1.0.0 it is almost exactly equal to Sleepyhead 1.1.0-testing, from which it is derived. As the developer, the project closed on February 9, we’ve made a fork (branch) and are made completely independently available to all apnea patients in the world (!).
NOTE: This is the beginning of a new development. Let OSCAR are now the gold standard for not only the interested patient, but especially for all those medical professionals who now suffer from the use of totally different, horrible programs of the manufacturers. They must be convinced that a program with a simple layout and the correlation analysis is much less time consuming and confusing.
In short, let us make the manufacturers aware of the tremendous benefits therein to cooperate rather than compete over the heads of the professionals.
After several years of using a CPAP machine and dealing with the CPAP business, I have found practices and costs concerning.
First I was very uncomfortable that the specialist I was referred to and who confirmed I needed a machine was also selling and servicing CPAP machines from the rooms they consulted from.
I find the prices of the CPAP machines expensive & the prices for parts such as masks, replacement water tanks extraordinarily expensive and seemingly priced so you are driven to consider spending money to purchase a replacement expensive CPAP machine.
It could be argued that very poor design causes users to have to seek replacement parts at expensive prices. For example, the water tank I have has a metal plate that is heated with the metal plate fitted to the rest of the tank which is plastic. Within a year from new, the metal plate is getting surface rust where it contacts the plastic. This I believe is caused by the metal and plastic expanding at different rates when the metal plate is heated. This is something that should be easily anticipated and leaves open of the quality of design etc.
Overall I find the CPAP business open to price gouging, excessive pricing and in need of examination and ongoing scrutiny.
Agreed. My first machine cost me about $2800 including the mask. I replaced that with an Auto machine which cost almost as much. Not having private insurance, it had to come out of my own pocket. That second machine is still going but I have now bought another more modern one (but second hand), from a US site at a fraction of the cost of buying here in Oz. The new ones from that same site are also very inexpensive by comparison with Oz.
I’d rather buy from Australia but my financial challenges mean that I don’t, anymore. BTW that mask which cost me around $230 originally, when replaced also came from the USA, and I was able to buy 4 of them for the same cost (total $210, IIRC) including the ridiculously expensive shipping from there.
I wonder how many businesses in the Australian market take a cut along the way to retail and the consumer.
Is our supply chain inefficient, IE too many intermediaries?
Or are our suppliers lazy, able to pad the margins due to a lack of active competition?
It would be revealing to know what the declared customs values are for the imported machines and accessories, as a point of comparison.
If the difference in retail between the USA and Australia for the same product is as large as suggested, it deserves an honest response from the suppliers?
We all know, as Gerry Harvey and his mates have told us and convinced government, it is all about and only about the GST, not our small market and inefficient small volume importers who often appear to set their income targets and divide by volume to set the unit price.
Funny now that GST is charged on even once-off imports nothing has changed, except the whinges from our businesses who in many cases still struggle to compete for various reasons, including some who continue as if we are still in the pre-internet days where consumers are ‘deaf, dumb, and blind’ about prevailing products and prices. Customer service can only make up for so much ‘extra pricing’, and therein lies a balance they are struggling with.
One whinge is the cost of inventory, maintaining spares, and so on for low volume (even by Australian standards) goods. When goods can be imported in days at reasonable air freight costs (for businesses), and a part can be imported and delivered to the customer in an extra 2-4 days customs willing, it begs reflection on norms in place for stocking.
It is obviously not quite that simple, but. Add our more liveable minimum wages, job protections, real estate costs, tax structure and so on, and costs are indeed higher than in the USA, but I digress.
I think it does. Resmed devices (arguably the most popular though I dont have one) were invented and made in Australia. It was cheaper to buy from the USA. I believe it still is, even though the head office for Resmed is now over there, in San Diego. Resmed maintain offices in North Ryde, I don’t know if manufacturing is still done here and cannot find any information about that on their website.
From their 2017 annual report, even China. ‘We also acquired a line of Chinese-developed and manufactured sleep and ventilation devices with the acquisition of Curative Medical.’ and ‘Our main manufacturing facilities are located in Sydney, Australia; Loyang, Singapore; Chatsworth, California; Johor Bahru, Malaysia; Atlanta,Georgia.’
Oh boy, a device that is implanted in your throat and gives you electric shocks to keep the tongue in place sounds like just what the doctor (or rather, ENT surgeon) ordered.
ERK. I was hopeful for 30 seconds until I read your response. (I hdnt read the article… 9 news gives me the willies, often)
I need an alternative, I get awful sinus issues with the machinery blasting air through your nose and its just getting worse and worse with time. I sometimes just feel like quitting it altogether except I know I need something.
Try refined sesame seed oil, there are varieties made for CPAP usage that include FLO Nozoil, and FESS Nasal oil spray/drops. They have no (or imperceptible) smell but they keep the sinuses and nasal passages moist and help reduce inflammation that occurs due to the dry air passing over the tissues.
I didn’t read their article either, as I have them blocked. Instead I searched for the title.
Do you have a humidifier attached to your machine? Many devices are designed with add-on humidifiers, and you can specify temperature/moisture content.
Np at all. Two studies conducted at PA Hospital in Qld showed it’s efficacy.
A randomized, single-blinded cross-over trial of sesame oil (Nozoil) for the treatment of nasal symptoms associated with CPAP. Feenstra J et al. Sleep Disorders Centre, Dept of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Princess Alexandra Hospital, QLD 4102.
A randomized cross-over trial of inhaled nasal sesame oil (Nozoil) versus heated humidification versus placebo for the treatment of nasal congestion associated with CPAP. Rixon K, Tang T and Hukins C. Sleep Disorders Centre, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba QLD 4102.
Humidifier doesnt help at any temp, eventually it ends up the same as without so then i stop using it until the next time. And the cycle restarts. I will give the nozoil a trial.
I went camping with my cpap (resmed Variable with humidifier). I dont use the humidifer part. anyway, I purchased a separate deep cycle battery and a large solar panel and inverter. during the day, the battery charged. I got a full nights use out of it. I dont know if I could have gotten a second nights use. regardless it worked very well. If you hook up tot he vehicle battery at night - make sure it is an isolated second battery.
My current chin-strap is looking a little worn, so I went searching online for a replacement. My search eventually took me to CPAP Australia, where I ordered a Resmed-brand strap for $17 and checked out as a guest.
Soon afterwards I received an email saying in part:
For your convenience, we’ve created you an account on CPAP Australia so you can check the status of your order and checkout quicker in the future.
I of course replied, stating that I chose not to create an account and do not want an account - as well as asking that any account that had been created be deleted.
The company’s response?
Of course, we respect your decisions, we have deleted your file from our systems however if you wish to track where your item is or refund/ exchange your purchased item, we would no longer be able to help.
This company appears not to understand Australian Consumer Law or basic customer service.
I don’t know about ACL in this scenario. That could get more complicated - since you are specifically asking them to delete record of the fact that they sold the item to you before it even arrives.
It may be better to a) receive the item b) use it for a short period of time so that you are satisfied that it is of mechantable quality and then c) request that they delete your account.
Perhaps it would be better if this particular online vendor did not offer “guest checkout”.
If you are worried about being spammed forever (very often a legitimate worry) then you should use a throwaway email address - but I expect that you are already on top of that .
Not at all. I simply asked that they request my express wish (as permitted by their website) to shop as a guest and without an account. That does not equate to deleting all records of me, which I understand would be crazy.
And yes, I do have a few email addresses around the place.
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