Chennai: Oxygen concentrator costs 5 times more, thanks to panic renting

CHENNAI: Panic renting or buying of oxygen concentrators, a portable device that uses ambient air to deliver medical grade oxygen, among Covid-19 patients under home isolation have pushed up rental rates of the devices by at least five times and the sale price has doubled.
Rent per month of the device, which was 4,000 until a few days ago, is now 20,000 and concentrators sold for 42,000-45,000 are now priced at 80,000.

According to experts, both people recuperating from Covid at home as well as healthy individuals are renting oxygen concentrators, even if not recommended by doctors, due to fear over a shortage of oxygen cylinders and hospital beds in the city.
Seeing the demand, some rental agencies and surgical shops have jacked up the prices.
"My oxygen saturation levels dropped to 88% and I was recommended to use an oxygen concentrator as I had breathing issues. I was also on steroids. The rental company asked 20,000 as rent, but luckily, I rented one through my doctor for 3,000," said J Praveen, a patient under home isolation.
An employee from rental agency Pulmo Oxycare Systems said inquiries for renting concentrators have doubled in the past few days. "We are running out of stock and are not able to cater to everyone," he said. Online shopping portals that sell the devices for anywhere between 35,000 to 2 lakh too have no stock.
Homecare specialists too are running out of devices to give their patients and are forced to outsource them at triple the price.
Dr Avinash Rajkumar, founder and head, NORMS said, "There is an acute shortage of oxygen across the city, whether it is a concentrator or cylinder. A lot of people are getting hyped about beds and ICU beds not being available. So some patients have started stocking up without any logic and there are people using the frenzy to make money," he said.
Josephine Farida, a palliative care specialist said concentrators are otherwise recommended for asthmatics and those with lung disease.
"Sometimes, with covid patients, it is all in the mind. They may be breathing fine but the moment they find out that their oxygen saturation levels have dropped, they panic and would want a concentrator," she said.
While the concentrators are mostly recommended for mild or moderate infections, medical experts said these devices are only a standby and not a mode of treatment.
"It is not advisable to treat a Covid patient acutely with oxygen at home. Patients with oxygen saturation level of 90-94% will still need expert medical assistance, while those below 90% should reach a hospital at the earliest to get the right level of care," Dr Rajkumar added.