It’s a requirement to be accepted as a patient with Dr. Garcia.
“There must be a lung infection confirmed either twice in sputum or once in bronchoscopy, radiographic evidence of the disease and symptoms attributed to the infection and that are significant enough that treatment is justified” said Dr. Garcia. One of his current patients told me the same thing.
I live in coastal Alabama. My primary care and I discussed options. Mayo Jacksonville being one, but according to feedback from their website, they are not accepting new NTM patients.
NJH is everyone’s first recommendation, but just not feasible for me. I’ve been to two local infectious disease doctors and they don’t have the expertise. The second one told me I was lucky that the first one didn’t kill me and she was so sorry I’ve been put through this. I thought I’d hit the jackpot with her, but she doesn’t have the experience with these meds. She ordered Arikayce from Publix (grocery store pharmacy) and had no idea that it was outrageously expensive for most. She forgot to order my PICC line, so my meds were ready, but I was not. She told me she would admit me to the hospital to start treatment because I’ve had severe reactions to previous meds. Didn’t happen. So, red flags everywhere and I decided to move on. Looking for that expert!