NORCAL RESPIRATORY, INC.

As the president of NorCal Respiratory I have been closely associated with this patient's care only because of his need for ever increasing flow rates of oxygen. It is understandable that this patient's wife is distraught because the patient's oxygen needs are exceeding conventional home oxygen...

delivery systems. Their insurance only pays for one oxygen system, which they've chosen to be a portable oxygen concentrator, that produces unlimited oxygen. I have chosen to provide this patient a second system free of charge; a specialized high-flow concentrator they can use at home. This patient's needs have now exceeded the oxygen producing capability of both these systems, combined! When the patient's wife called on our on-call Tech on a Sunday, they were requesting yet an additional oxygen system involving tanks. The patient's wife mentioned in her complaint, at least twice, that when she called on NorCal she felt it was an "emergency". By law NorCal Respiratory is not a first responder and the staff are not trained or equipped to handle emergencies. We are licensed to provide oxygen equipment as prescribed by the patient's physician. If patients have an emergency they are directed to seek medical attention or call 911. With all that said, before receiving this patient's complaint, on Monday, 10/30, I (serendipitously) worked with this patient's wife to approve that they be set up with a third oxygen system, to hopefully meet the patient's increasing oxygen needs. Plus I just made a courtesy call to the patient this afternoon and he said that all the systems are working fine and seem to be helping to maintain his oxygen saturations to appropriate levels.