Understanding your prescription

Your primary healthcare provider will prescribe home oxygen therapy based on your needs. Your oxygen therapy prescription has three main parts:

• Flow rate is the quantity of 'extra’ oxygen you should be given per minute. Your doctor may want your flow rate to remain constant, or to change for different activities such as when you’re sleeping, or active in the daytime. Your flow rate is shown in litres per minute (LPM)
• Duration of use refers to the number of hours per day oxygen therapy should be used. Typically, 16 - 24 hours of use per day is required to be effective
• The recommended type of oxygen equipment which will be provided by your home oxygen therapist based on what products suit your lifestyle, and available funding

We can assist you with a variety of home oxygen systems.

How do I order oxygen?

VitalAire will work with you to set up your home oxygen needs wherever you are, whether still at the hospital waiting to be discharged – if this is where the need arose – or at home:

• We coordinate all the arrangements with your doctor and with the government’s home oxygen program
• We can supply oxygen for your trip home from the hospital, and make sure everything is set up for you when you arrive at your residence
• Once at home, we will show you and your family how to easily and safely use the equipment, and will continue to be available to answer all your questions

Our goal is to take the worry away and leave you feeling confident with home oxygen therapy.

Day or night - we are always just a phone call away should you have any questions or concerns.

Will you support me at a long term care facility or nursing home?

VitalAire will provide comprehensive oxygen therapy products and services - whether you live at home or at a long term care facility. Our respiratory therapists will come by and educate you and your caregivers on using the oxygen equipment properly, to ensure you are feeling confident and educated about your equipment.

How do I use oxygen therapy in my daily life?

Using your oxygen therapy will help you continue doing the everyday things you enjoy.

Integrating oxygen therapy into your daily routine will not only improve your quality of life but will potentially prolong it. You may at first feel self-conscious about using it in public but you will soon appreciate its benefits.

We offer many oxygen systems including portable oxygen concentrators that are small and lightweight. These discrete concentrators will help you gain confidence when going out.

You’ll soon learn to adapt to your oxygen equipment in your home, and if you have a portable unit, you’ll be able to leave the house with it.

Begin with a short trip and build up to longer periods as you become more comfortable with your equipment.