1. < Prostate Cancer

Waiting for onc to accept my referral; what's too long?

Posted by johnt0707 @johnt0707, Apr 5 2:11pm

Healthcare and waiting seem synonymous. How long is too long in waiting for an oncologist to determine if he'll take me from a referring urologist? If the decision on a referral takes what is now two weeks, the appointment wait might be a doozy. I've phoned twice. The very polite staff says the onc reviews/accepts cases one by one but no deadline on when he'll be reconnecting. Recurring prostate cancer my issue. I know specialty doctors and some specialty hospitals cherry pick their cancer patients for reasons good and not so. And the shortages of specialists, especially well-rated ones. What are your experiences, and thanks.

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stevecando54 | @stevecando54 | Apr 5 2:50pm

I consider myself very lucky in regards to this. I work for a very large health care system. Not sure with 37k employees that actually know me. Anyway, went to walk in for leg pain, 2 days later seen Bone doctor, he seen cancer on the x-ray, next day, a saturday had an MRI, on Monday met with my Oncologist whom had gotten a call from the bone doctor. The system has a lot of offices, I had to do little bit of driving but the tests and scans went very quickly. To be fair, I hadn't been to a doctor in some time so I had no middle man to go through. I'm sorry you have to wait so long, time to wait for news is not good for any of us. Wish the best for you.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Apr 5 3:10pm

@johnt0707, waiting is the hardest part. May I ask if this is a request within Mayo Clinic?

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edmond1971 | @edmond1971 | Apr 5 7:09pm

I have not experienced this scenario so I can't add any input to actuals, however I empathize with your situation and here are some potential thoughts for consideration. (1) depending on where you are located, are there other doctors that you could call? (2) can you switch your primary care doctor so you are part of a larger network of professionals? (3) does the primary care doctor have any thoughts on the situation? stay the course and reach out.

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johnt0707 | @johnt0707 | Apr 6 2:09pm
In reply to @stevecando54 "I consider myself very lucky in regards to this. I work for a very large health..." + (show)
@stevecando54

I consider myself very lucky in regards to this. I work for a very large health care system. Not sure with 37k employees that actually know me. Anyway, went to walk in for leg pain, 2 days later seen Bone doctor, he seen cancer on the x-ray, next day, a saturday had an MRI, on Monday met with my Oncologist whom had gotten a call from the bone doctor. The system has a lot of offices, I had to do little bit of driving but the tests and scans went very quickly. To be fair, I hadn't been to a doctor in some time so I had no middle man to go through. I'm sorry you have to wait so long, time to wait for news is not good for any of us. Wish the best for you.

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Appreciate your sharing of good news!

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johnt0707 | @johnt0707 | Apr 6 2:10pm
In reply to @colleenyoung "@johnt0707, waiting is the hardest part. May I ask if this is a request within Mayo..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@johnt0707, waiting is the hardest part. May I ask if this is a request within Mayo Clinic?

Jump to this post

Not a Mayo clinician.

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johnt0707 | @johnt0707 | Apr 6 2:10pm
In reply to @edmond1971 "I have not experienced this scenario so I can't add any input to actuals, however I..." + (show)
@edmond1971

I have not experienced this scenario so I can't add any input to actuals, however I empathize with your situation and here are some potential thoughts for consideration. (1) depending on where you are located, are there other doctors that you could call? (2) can you switch your primary care doctor so you are part of a larger network of professionals? (3) does the primary care doctor have any thoughts on the situation? stay the course and reach out.

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Thanks for your thoughtfulness. I hope to have a positive update next week as I thread though the intrigues.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Apr 6 2:29pm
In reply to @johnt0707 "Not a Mayo clinician." + (show)
@johnt0707

Not a Mayo clinician.

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John, I hope you have found a path forward. If you continue to run into blockers, I might suggest contacting the hospital's patient relations department, sometimes referred to as the office of patient experience. They can help mediate.

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johnt0707 | @johnt0707 | Apr 8 12:37pm

UPDATE. I persisted and now have an oncology appointment; thanks for everyone's encouragement and suggestions. There was a "glitch" in scheduling handoff between urology and oncology. They discovered it because I persisted. And they quickly remedied! Overall cost was anxiety and a month longer wait to see the oncologist.

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billfarm | @billfarm | Apr 8 2:42pm
In reply to @johnt0707 "UPDATE. I persisted and now have an oncology appointment; thanks for everyone's encouragement and suggestions. There..." + (show)
@johnt0707

UPDATE. I persisted and now have an oncology appointment; thanks for everyone's encouragement and suggestions. There was a "glitch" in scheduling handoff between urology and oncology. They discovered it because I persisted. And they quickly remedied! Overall cost was anxiety and a month longer wait to see the oncologist.

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Proof that you are your own best advocate in this trip. Good luck

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Apr 8 9:26pm
In reply to @johnt0707 "UPDATE. I persisted and now have an oncology appointment; thanks for everyone's encouragement and suggestions. There..." + (show)
@johnt0707

UPDATE. I persisted and now have an oncology appointment; thanks for everyone's encouragement and suggestions. There was a "glitch" in scheduling handoff between urology and oncology. They discovered it because I persisted. And they quickly remedied! Overall cost was anxiety and a month longer wait to see the oncologist.

Jump to this post

@johnt0707, persistence pays off. I realize there was an emotional cost and wait time, but I'm glad you stayed on it. I appreciate the update.

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