Hello @amkaloha, Great questions! Thank you for posting them here on Mayo Clinic Connect.

You can start with a referral from your Primary Care Provider or you can refer yourself, called a self-referral.

Your first interaction with Mayo Clinic will start with our Central appointment desk. See the number to call or request an appointment online here http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.
Here the Appointment coordinators will introduce you to how the Mayo system works. Our Appointment schedulers use decision trees to determine where you will start with your Mayo experience. For example, if General Internal Medicine happens to be where you need to start, they will then request your medical records and schedule the appointment for you.

It has been in my experience that some referring facilities don't follow up with sending patient medical records from other facilities. It would be in your best interest to gather your records and have them with you when you attend your appointment so possible testing requested by your Mayo provider doesn't have to be repeated.

I will also connect you with members @v1crew @sauvee @coastalgirl @pbo2016 @rosemarya and @kdubois who have also had experience visiting Mayo Clinic. They may have more insight on navigating the facility as a patient and getting the most out of your Mayo Clinic experience.

I hope this answers some of your questions. Best of luck to you!