Existing Patient Appointment Making

@fitnhealthy
Not sure of your situation, but when they mention the doctor needed to make an order, it usually refers to a test or follow-up appointment the provider requested. If new symptom or it has been an extended time, they may treat it more as a new patient to dept then returning follow up visit.

As a local Mayo patient, if I have not been seen in speciality area within 3 years, I need a new referral from my MAYO PCP. Different dept have different policies.

Two options,
- if condition is related to previous condition , try sending a portal message to doctor asking about scheduling a return appointment.
- if condition is for a different health condition or it has been years since you were seen, you may need to request an appointment with central appointment desk. To request an appointment.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/appointments and take option for returning patient

I am glad your previous experience at Mayo was positive, hopefully you will be able to get an appointment and be treated at Mayo again.

Do you care to share what dept you are trying to get an appointment in?

Hi Laurie,
Appreciate your insight. I'm wanting to better understand how to work with Mayo. When I originally began in PM/Spine I connected online requesting an appointment as I had had MRIs and test results from outside of Mayo and wanted to transfer my care. That went wonderfully well as I mentioned and scheduling for procedures/tests flowed as one would expect....agreed to approach, received call to make the procedure date/appointment, etc.
I also was able to simply message the dr to let him know I'd like to reconnect. I'm now working with Neurology department and am an active patient ....doctor prescribed medication etc and following week I needed to speak with doctor due to new symptoms etc since starting medication. That's when I was told a order would need to be put in and approved by the doctor to make an appointment. Strange feeling to think my doctor needed to approve my request for an appointment with him/her. I'm an active case/patient.

@fitnhealthy
Unfortunately I think your caught in-between appointment coordinator following her procedure and communication with your doctor. If your having new symptoms since starting a new medication he prescribed, he should respond to a portal message about the change. If you think he order an appt, but appt desk does not have record of, reach out again via portal message to provider. Sometime things do not go as planned and need to follow up.

Remember, it may take few days to a week if someone is out of the office. Sometime a PA or nurse covers portal message.

If Neurology provider is not responsive to problems your having with new medication or he does not respond to portal message, you can reach out to Mayo Clinic Office of Patient Experience. https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/patient-experience

Have you sent msg to neurotology provider about problems with new medication?

Feeling caught in cross hairs for sure. As an existing patient under current care does an order for a appointment need to be made? Signed off by the doctor him/herself?
Trying to understand the process. Was informed my doctor was on vacation and to see my local GP or local neurologist until she/he returned and ER if overly concerned. I have chosen Mayo because of their reputation for thorough, quality, superior patient care....if I felt confident of my local medical professionals I wouldn't be at Mayo. Don't doctors have backups/oncall doctors to tend to active patients while they are out?

Received a call today to schedule and appt avail is end of August. Request to expedite and wait listed but this just doesn't seem right; especially when I'm on a medication that will end long before and suggestion of CT testing was made. Again doesn't seem right.

Hi @fitnhealthy, you have questions about your care that need and deserve answers. As @roch suggested, I encourage you to contact the Office of Patient Experience.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/patient-experience
Phone: 844-544-0036
Email: opx@mayo.edu

Without knowing all the details, it is hard to answer specific questions such as when an order for an appointment is required and whose sign off is necessary. A patient experience coordinator can work with you to untangle the communication.

In the meantime, it sounds like you have received a call today. That's good. However, your appointment is later than you need or hoped. Are you able to get a renewal on your medication? Is the request for a CT scan from your Mayo Clinic doctor?

Colleen,
I much appreciate your and Laurie's input. I am cautious as I know my neurologist is frankly brilliant and don't want to create waves or tagged a "problem". The suggestion for 2 CT scans are infact from my doctor at Mayo. S/He is the only one I am seeing with hopes of resolving this ongoing health issue. I was informed my former messages had been read by doc and s/he suggested 2 CT scans. Meanwhile symptoms have changed, some better some worse, and I haven't spoken with doctor since starting med. My course of medication was for 5 weeks which ends mid July. Just have so many questions and decision to have scans is dependent on answers to some of those. I will give thought to contacting the Patient Experience folks to gain an understanding on how best to work with my Team there and manage my expecctations. Thank you.

@fitnhealthy, I understand your concern of being labelled as a problem. I think @naturegirl5 had a similar concern and may be able to share more.

The CT scans were ordered because of the changing symptoms. The medication was prescribed by your Mayo doctor and s/he is aware of both the prescription ending mid-July and the change in symptoms. Have I got that right?

It sounds like things are moving in the right direction. Sometimes things don't happen in the order that we expect them or in the timeline we would like. You said it well about getting a better understand of how to work with your Team and managing expectations.

@colleenyoung, being new to this portal, would you recommend I reach out to @naturegirl5? I'd be interested in hearing how she navigated her concern.

Regarding the CT scans, they were suggested as a next step in attempt to eliminate/diagnose the underlying cause of my symptoms after having 3+ MRIs with and w/o contrast, audiology and ENT assessments at Mayo and have also seen a maxillofacial surgeon (outside or Mayo as Mayo location doesn't have this specialty, and also neuro optic assessment (also outside of Mayo ). All of these have not led us to an answer hence CT recommendation. I requested copies of outside of Mayo appts/reports be forwarded to Mayo.

Regarding the medication. Yes, it was prescribed by my Mayo doctor (Neurologist). I sent messages in portal regarding worsening symptoms/new ones and was informed by nursing team it was not a side affect of the medication and see my local neurologist/GP /ER as doctor was on vacation. When I received the call today to schedule an appointment I reconfirmed the change/worsening of symptoms and the meds conclude in a couple weeks. It's been an involved process across the board and I hope this has answered your questions.

Moving in the right direction? Yes. My overwhelming concern is the worsening of a remaining symptom and a relapse back into all of the symptom before August appointment. It's too far out to wait to discuss changes/go forward, etc., and make decision on recommended CT scans.

I do feel this is a combo of knowing how they 'work" and a definite communication issue. I use the portal as much as possible but it should not be the end all to speaking to your doctor while under active care with ongoing issue nor waiting 7 weeks.

@fitnhealthy I think that @colleenyoung is referring to a different situation that we (my husband and I) were faced with. In our case my husband felt that the provider he was seeing in Urology wasn't responsive to his needs and ordered lab tests that did not help (and actually deterred) from the decision making. What my husband was advised to do was to contact the Nurse Manager in Urology and ask for a different provider - in this case an MD who specializes in prostate. I was present at Mayo Clinic when my husband talked with the Nurse Manager and she listened, was responsive and did help my husband to make an appointment with a new provider.

I'm not sure if what I wrote helps unless you think that contacting the Nurse Manager - the person who manages the practice in Neurology - would be helpful for you in order to get your appointment moved up in time.

@naturegirl5, thanks for explaining in brief your situation. You're right, it's not the same situation as @fitnhealthy's situation. The similarity, I think, might be drawn between the communication avenue that you took. Your husband was advised to contact the Nurse Manager and was able to find a resolution with her rather than having to contact the Office of Patient Experience. Is that correct?

@fitnhealthy, might that be an option for you?