2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6
I
f yours is a smaller facility
that doesn't do general anes-
thesia, you can save money
on oxygen by buying a concentra-
tor — the kind you routinely see
in nursing homes.
We used to have oxygen deliv-
ered every month and, of course,
had to pay every month. It
occurred to me that there might
be a much less expensive alter-
native — buying my own
machine. So I contacted both the
group that provides our anesthesia — it's the biggest group in my
state — and our state Medicare, and both said they were fine with
the idea.
The concentrator cost between $500 and $600, and by eliminating
our monthly fees, paid for itself in a year. I expect to get several more
years out of it. It has a port for a nasal cannula; I just use a new can-
nula for each patient. The machine never touches the patient, and
there are no refills, no disposables and no deliveries. The machine
simply takes oxygen from the air and concentrates it.
And of course I keep a backup on hand: a non-rebreather mask
hooked up to a positive pressure valve on an oxygen tank — in the
unlikely event that the power goes out and my battery-operated gener-
ator doesn't work. So we're covered in case of an emergency.
Daniel D. Michaels, DPM
Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Institute
We Did Away With Oxygen Deliveries
• IN THE AIR Dr. Michaels eliminated expensive monthly oxy-
gen deliveries at his podiatric surgery center.
Hagerstown, Md.
drmichaels@rfainstitute.com
Ideas Work
That
