portable oxygen concentrator

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RickN

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tell me everything you know about them... where to buy, what they cost ,do they work well?

thanks
Medical? If so and you are on Medicare or most insurance will cover it is prescribed by a doc.

Oh, and I like my Invacare Homefill II system. It lets me refill my own tanks that I use when doing yard work, etc.
 
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They're nitrogen filters essentially and don't produce actual 100% oxygen, but they can get close. The higher the flow rate, the lower the percentage of O2 they produce. Most of them top out around 5 to 6 liters per minute if I'm recalling correctly. You would also need a prescription for them as O2 is considered a medical gas and generally get them from a home health company.
 

okcBob

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For insurance to cover it, you will need a qualifying diagnosis, and a blood gas or pulse ox reading 88% or less at rest on room air. Sometimes you can qualify with 89% if you have a supporting cardiac issue. If you don’t qualify at rest, you might with ambulation & more oximetry testing.

To pay privately, home stationary concentrators cost anywhere between 700-2K. Most go up to 5 or 6 liters/minute. There are some that will go higher but remember since this is not pure O2, the % of oxygen will decrease as your flow rate increases. So, at 2 LPM the you might get 96% o2 & at 6 L you might get 85%. This is for a continuous-flow stationary machine that plugs into the wall.

Portable machines are smaller & battery operated, & don’t have as high a flow rate. They might go up to 2LPM continuous flow. But they can also give what’s called “pulse dose” which gives just a puff of o2 when you inhale, so they conserve 02. Settings on those are dependent on oximetey testing with the portable unit.
 
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okcBob

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Why do you need a portable concentrator? If you have insurance & qualify, the home medical company should supply one instead of having you buy one outright.

Inogen is a popular portable machine lots of patients use. But are expensive 2K. There are a lot of other different companies though.
My wife has copd and emphysema and landed in the hospital last Sunday with pneumonia. Dr said when she gets out she will need to be on oxygen. Insurance will pay for the home one , but may not pay for portable one. She would like to be able to continue working
 
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My MIL bought one off of Amazon to use if she is out and about. It was around $400 dollars and works great. 6 hours use time if on battery and unlimited if plugged in. Several people at her assisted living are using them. She does have a big one set up in her apartment that medicare pays for.
 
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okcBob

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My wife has copd and emphysema and landed in the hospital last Sunday with pneumonia. Dr said when she gets out she will need to be on oxygen. Insurance will pay for the home one , but may not pay for portable one. She would like to be able to continue working
If she qualifies for home oxygen, she should be covered for both stationary & portable systems. The doc has to write the script for both systems. The home oxygen company should help the discharge planner with ordering the oxygen.
The qualifying saturation has to be within 48 hrs of discharge. I would ask to speak with the discharge planner. They should be contacting you to ask which company you want to use. They will have a list of companies. National chains are April, Ali care, Rotech. There are also smaller local companies.
When she is discharged, the oxygen company will deliver the portable system to the hospital room & will meet you at your house to deliver the stationary concentrator.
 
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My MIL bought one off of Amazon to use if she is out and about. It was around $400 dollars and works great. 6 hours use time if on battery and unlimited if plugged in. Several people at her assisted living are using them. She does have a big one set up in her apartment that medicare pays for.
would it possible to find out the brand name for me?
 

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