How do you know if you need oxygen?The determination to put a patient on oxygen or not, is made by the patient's doctor, the hospital, the nurse or the respiratory therapist who cares for them at home or in a laboratory. We determine if a patient needs oxygen by testing them in one of two ways:
1.) Arterial Blood Gas (ABG): this is an "invasive" procedure where a needle is inserted into the patient's artery at either the wrist or the front side of the elbow. This is not done in the homecare setting.
2.) Saturation Test (SAT): this is a "non-invasive" procedure, which involves putting a small clip onto one of the patient's fingers and seeing how much oxygen is "saturated" in the blood. It is read as a percentage. Any patient who has a SAT of 88% or less is a candidate for oxygen.

Respiratory Assessments: This service is provided by Sunshine’s Respiratory Therapists for patients whose physician indicates concerns regarding the patient’s respiratory status. Patients may request their physician to order a respiratory assessment. If a patient wants their oxygen levels checked at the time of the assessment the doctor would fax Sunshine to do either a complimentary oximtery or to a qualifying oximetry through an IDTF, Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility. For more information on IDTF’s please visit: http://www.dmt-idtf.com/index.html. Any patient may choose to purchase their own finger oximeter, we sell them retail. These are not used to qualify a patient for oxygen, but rather as “spot checks.”

Is it True that if I use my oxygen too much, I will become addicted to it?There is no evidence that if a person uses oxygen that their bodies will become addicted to oxygen. Using oxygen as prescribed will stabilize the person’s condition and may actually prevent further health issues that may arise to insufficient oxygen in the body.