Hello, and welcome. I hope you’re able to get an appointment, but I don’t think anyone can really say what the chances are…

Typically, if you’re offered an appointment, you’ll get a call in about 2-3 business days. If not, it’s most likely the request will be denied, but they’ve sent the denial letter by snail mail and it just hasn’t gotten to you. Or at least that’s how my experience has been based on one time getting an appointment and all the other times denied except for when I got in touch with a department that accepted self-referrals.

You can call them directly if the requisite number of business days has passed, and they can check the status of your request.

I can share my honest experience: I’ve been seen at Mayo Clinic twice, and once was a physician referral where he provided the maximum allowed number of pages of clinical notes, and I got an appointment that way. Years later, I self-referred twice and was denied.

Then I was referred directly to a specialty clinic that at the time accepted self-referrals. I basically called, they put me on a wait list, and in 9 months (they advised me of this estimated wait time) I got a call to offer an appointment. That seems a unique scenario though.

So it sort of depends on the specialty area you requested or were referred to. I was told by a staff member that Cardiology, Neurology, and GI are among the most difficult. I seemed out appointments in the latter two, and that turned out to be true for me. And they also base things on “urgency,” and whether or not they believe they can contribute meaningfully to the direction of your treatment, especially if you’re not able to access that care locally.

But in my experience, that can be quite subjective, as I’ve been denied twice when my local providers specifically referred me, saying they can’t connect me to said care at home. It didn’t matter.

Sometimes it seems quite random. And you’ll hear often that, “Mayo Clinic receives more appointment requests than they can grant, so unfortunately they can’t fulfill all requests.” There are many stories here, one person wrote they’d “walk on broken glass” to get established at Mayo (and did), and many others who were not so lucky. These pages are littered with tales of denials, including my own.

I personally did not have the most positive experience either time, but I realize I’m saying that owing to the privilege I had to be seen twice at all. But having seen it from both sides, Mayo is a unique and amazing organization, but it’s also not without its own flaws. It can feel euphoric to get an appointment, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the answers or care you seek. And getting a denial can feel soul crushing. But it doesn’t mean your pain is any less real.

It’s good to keep options open and I had to remind myself they’re not the be all, end all, despite the fancy commercials.

I do hope you are able to access the care you need, whether it’s at Mayo or elsewhere.