Resmed PEI Patient Podcast

In Resmed PEI, we understand that adjusting to CPAP therapy can be difficult and we provide dedicated resources to help you adjust to your new treatment. From our many years’ experience, we find that the first 90 days are critical to the success or otherwise of a patient’s treatment. Patients usually become accustomed to therapy by this time, becoming self-sufficient or independent.

This episode considers our Care Pathway, with a particular emphasis on those first 90 days. When you start treatment, we understand that the process can be daunting. For the first 30 days, you are allocated a dedicated nurse, who will assist in the set up process, and who will check in with you on a regular basis to ensure you understand how to use your device and who can assist you with any issues you have.

After the initial 30 days, we find that patients are beginning to become more accustomed to therapy. As such, from 30-90 days your care then transfers to the wider Nurse Advisor Team. We will continue to check in with you on how you’re doing and to answer any queries, and of course, you can reach out to us at any time.

After 90 days, we deem you to be reasonably independent or self-sufficient in your therapy. You will be able to access your daily score on the myPatientSpace app and you will be able to contact the Nurse Advisor team via the app or via our Freephone number 1800 734 000 with any additional queries.

Your CPAP device is built to make your treatment as easy as possible. As you use it, you regularly get prompted to do certain things, e.g. press a certain button, etc. While most messages make perfect sense, some may be a little confusing. We regularly get asked by patients what certain messages mean. We try and address the most common Messages on Devices in this episode – what they mean and what action you need to take if any.

One message that can cause confusion is an option to install the myAir app. This is particularly common when you start using your device for the first time. myAir is the European equivalent of myPatientSpace, which is the app we use in Ireland. Please chose not to install myAir. If prompted to install it, just press the blue “OK” button three times and then press the blue “No Thanks” button to not install the app.

Another message which can confuse is the prompt that software is updated. To ensure your device is running at its optimum performance level, software updates are regularly pushed out to your device remotely. These happen automatically in the background. If you see this message just click on the OK button, content in the knowledge that your device is now supported by the latest software version available.

As with any aspect of your therapy, if you are unsure of what a device message means please reach out to us and we’ll assist you as best we can.

Wearables and Fitness Trackers have become really popular in recent years. As well as all fitness related data, these now capture a sleep data also. We regularly get asked if these are a suitable tool for measuring your sleep apnoea events. This episode considers the use of Wearables and Fitness Trackers for Sleep Measurement.

It should be noted from the outset that wearables and fitness trackers are not medical devices. Some of these do measure sleep in an overall context. This should not be confused however with the measurement of sleep apnoea events. This is where your CPAP device comes in. The two measurements are not the same. When considering sleep apnoea, you should always refer to your CPAP device for this measurement and result.
Wearables and fitness trackers are really useful and of course can be used in parallel with your CPAP device, but never rely on these for pure CPAP data. You will only get this information from your CPAP device. This is the score that is shown on your myPatientSpace app.

Your CPAP device is loaded with useful features and settingswhich make your treatment more comfortable and/or more appropriate to you. Many of these settings are found within the My Options Menu.
 
This episode considers how to access this menu and what settings you can change, and why you might do this. This includes a wide range of comfort settings, such as ramp time, humidity, pressure relief, mask type, airplane mode and mask fit test. Many of these settings have been addressed in previousepisodes of our podcast. These settings are very easily changed. Just note what the previous setting was in case you want to revert to that. As always, just reach out if you have any questions.

From time to time every patient can experience an issue with their power supply where a device simply won’t switch on.

This is no different to any electrical device, and most of the troubleshooting tips are similar.

This episode explores power troubleshooting advice if you are experiencing any issues with your device. This includes all the usual suggestions, such as to check that all cables are connected properly, to try a different power outlet in your home, and to check your device and all cables for damage.

If these fixes don’t work for you, or if your device is making funny noise, please reach out to us for additional advice or support.