Should you? Do you have a right to do this? Can it benefit you? For a more expanded opinion please visit my Living with a CPAP page.

Here’s the short answer:

It depends, but probably not.

Personally, I think patients should be able to monitor CPAP stats and make minor adjustments if the stats show areas where an improvement can be made (for example, increasing the minimum pressure supplied by an automatic CPAP device (APAP).

But here’s why you probably shouldn’t do this. If your DME and/or insurance company requires proof of compliance via downloading machine usage data then you shouldn’t change anything. Yes, it’s easy, but the insurance company might be able to declare that the act of changing settings is non-compliant (or they could claim that you’re not in compliance because you changed your settings). You might lose coverage or at the least have a lot of explaining to do.

When should you do this? My best guess is only if you’re not dealing with an insurance company or if you don’t have to report compliance data to any other party.

I hope this information helps. If you’re not sure then just contact your DME or sleep doctor.

2 responses to “Should You Change Your CPAP/APAP Settings?”

  1. […] Should You Change Your CPAP/APAP Settings? […]

  2. […] Changing CPAP (APAP) Minimum Pressure Range [Updated 10/12/2011] […]

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I’m Mike

Welcome to my blog, which I have maintained for several years, off and on, to share things that I’ve learned from numerous projects and various problem solving escapades. This is my way of giving something back to the online communities that have helped me learn more about a wide variety of topics.