How do I know if we are accepted or denied by Internal medicine

@millerrae0607, you are right that typically you should hear back within 3-5 business day. When calculating the days, be sure not to include weekends or holiday dates. If it has been longer than 5 days, I encourage you to contact the appointment office at the campus you applied to.
Here are the numbers
http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

I had applied for the GI dept and did not hear for 3 months until I called and they said I was approved just on a waiting list for a cancellation. When I called they happened to have a cancellation and I was able to be seen the end of March. I would maybe call and check if you do not hear by the end of the week.

I was denied when I requested appointment with internal medicine
A year later still having stomach pain-my doctors, physical therapist and all my scans, blood test, etc was sent by my doctor for appointment at Mayo. My doctor said I need to be seen by more advanced physicians. I just received a denial letter. I was hoping to be put on a cancel appointment. After stating to intake on phone I took off month of March and would rent a place for a month in Rochester. She told me March is slow for them. I had my hopes high. Anything else I could do that might help to be seen at Mayo? Thank you

anonymousq | @anonymousq

I know it is frustrating to get a denial letter. My understanding it is very hard to get into Internal Medicine.

Did you specifically request internal medicine? Or did you ask about being seen in GI area?

You mentioned your providers sent medical records, did they also request a referral or did you self-refer? If self-refer, maybe ask your provider to do a referral.

Unfortunately Mayo gets more request for appointments then they can accommodate.

Laurie

My doctor sent referral.
I’m not sure , but I think internal medicine.
I have a friend’s mother that requested internal medicine and she got in. She’s been dealing only 3 months with issues. So disappointed-even with hoping for a cancellation.
Does anyone on this forum know of any other well known medical facilities? I’m open to any state. Thank you

I’ve also been denied by Mayo—many times. It’s so frustrating to get the denial letter. You can’t appeal it and if they say “no,” they mean it, unless you self-refer again to a different department as others have said. I spoke with someone on the phone the last time I tried, for GI symptoms, like you, and they implied it’s extremely difficult to get an appointment for GI symptoms unless it’s very severe.

When I last got referred and denied, Mayo told me a certain number of months would have to elapse before submitting another request (I don’t remember how long, but you can call and ask). You could also try a referral to a different disciple or campus.

Have you tried being seen in gastroenterology at a different academic medical center? For example, I live in Illinois and I’m a patient at Northwestern University. Their Digestive Health Center has GI dieticians and GI psychologists who have significantly helped me. I have a functional GI condition.

You could also try Cleveland Clinic. I was able to get an appointment there. They have a similar structure as Mayo where your workup would be inclusive, or your doctor can refer you directly to a specialty department.

I don’t mean to be so negative about Mayo; I know people have a positive experience. But the entire appointment request/referral system baffles me. I hear of people who seem to barely lift a finger and get seen, then there are others who clearly have complex chronic pain conditions and treatment is nonexistent or inaccessible at other hospitals who get denied. It just feels very much by chance.

In my experience, I was seen at Rochester and was completely misdiagnosed. It delayed treatment for me by at least a year. Last year, I started a workup at Jacksonville, and I’ve really had a hard time coordinating care. So I definitely feel for you; it’s so disappointment after putting all your hopes into it. But there doesn’t seem much can be done after they say no, other than wait and try again. If I had continued to wait, I might never have gotten the correct diagnoses, so it may help to consider other options—something in between your PCP and Mayo, if possible.

@anonymousq, It sounds like you’ve taken the appropriate steps to seek care at Mayo Clinic. Our physician experts have likely reviewed your case with their colleagues. Their review led them to determine that Mayo Clinic cannot offer any further treatment for you at this time. Or that there is higher demand for appointments than slots available.

I know that denial letter is hard. You may wish to consider another Mayo Clinic location if either Phoenix, AZ or Jacksonville, FL would work for you. Or consider another large academic medical center closer to where you live as @emo suggested.

See additional tips from members in this discussion:
- Can't get an appointment: Any tips on what to do? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/traveling-to-mayo-clinic/

Another potential option might be Mayo Clinic's Pain Rehabilitation Center https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/pain-rehabilitation-center/sections/overview/ovc-20481691

How many on here are Medicare vs Private insurance. A quick google search of the Mayo President saying they will put private insurance above Medicare (I paraphrase) may answer many questions for some.

This is mentioned here to bring awareness to the larger systemic issues regarding the US Healthcare system and NOT as a criticism of Mayo’s practices.

Many areas have Mayo ‘Alumni’ that are practicing and accept patients who can’t get into Mayo. I’ve been told this when calling for appointments (and being denied) but never had a return call from the one time I tried.

If you still have private insurance and get an appointment DON’T let too much time lapse before you see your doctor again. It seems they will continue to take you after you go on Medicare because you are an ‘existing’ patient. If too much time goes by you are a ‘new patient’ and may be denied an appointment under that new status.

Good luck to all. I sincerely wish there was enough of Mayo to go around for all because they have been a life saver for my family for several generations.

Good luck, and I hope you're able to get an appointment at another facility.

I do understand as they like to say: "Unfortunately, there are more patients seeking appointments than Mayo is able to offer." It's just the appointment request/referral/self-referral process that baffles me. There are people who are just regular primary care patients (how does that work??) or don't even admit to having an extremely complex or serious condition and are patients. And then there are people like us with reams of medical records and recommended to the seek more comprehensive and experienced care at Mayo. I think that's the most frustrating part, the apparent randomness of it and lack of transparency and clear guidelines for referrals. After I went through multiple physician and self-referrals, I ended up getting on a waiting list for an appointment by simply calling the public number for the clinic where I wanted to be seen.

I've also been seen at both Rochester and Jacksonville, and I can say with certainty that the communication and coordination of care (or lack thereof) for my Jacksonville workup has been unbelievably bad.

It almost feels like there needs to be a support group for people who aren't able to get an appointment at Mayo and/or have a negative experience lol. When I read about the extremely positive experiences from others in the clinic where I'm currently a patient there, I feel like I'm crazy and imagined all the barriers and miscommunication. I wonder what I did wrong to be given the run-around. Case in point: I was told by a coordinator in this clinic that I have an order for a follow-up appointment with the physician coordinating my care, and I literally just called scheduling to schedule the appointment, and they can't schedule it.

She said she needs to "request access" to schedule it and will call me back once she has it, which I suppose is fine. But I've been told that before, multiple times, only for no one to call me to alert me to schedule. And by the time I do, all the appointments are booked.

But now I'm just venting >_<

I do wonder about what you're saying. There's a professional athlete I saw on the news who had a highly treatable form of cancer (I know, any cancer is not without risk, and I'm not trying to minimize his situation, and there's probably more to it than what they'd show on the local news), but he was seen at Mayo Clinic Rochester, yet we're in Chicago where there are multiple top-tier academic medical centers that could also treat this type of cancer.

That said, I do wish you luck with finding answers and treatment.

@emo, I'm sorry to hear of your issues with scheduling at Mayo Clinic. We have been seeing ENT, Oncology, Thoracic Surgery and Urology in Rochester for 12 years now, are both on Medicare but when we started were on private insurance. Our experience has been that some specialties are much better at getting our appointments scheduled than others. My husband has had to be very persistent in dealing with Urology to find appointments in a timely fashion. Daily calls or portal messages can help on your part. Waiting days to get a call has never served us well. Good luck with your health and future healthcare.