Can't get an appointment: Any tips on what to do?

Posted by radiocity @radiocity, Jul 2, 2021

Over a year trying to get an appointment, Scottsdale/Phoenix. I have two issues that may or may not be related. 5 'regular' doctors and 2 years later reveals what are likely lumbar spinal issues, but none of them can account for an issue in my left abdominal area. Last Doc I saw sent referral to Mayo, April 2020. Mayo says 2-3 years to establish primary care. I asked for an appt (internal medicine, interns, anyone at this point) for a comprehensive physical, to basically start over, but I keep getting rejected. I don't understand.

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Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Aug 3, 2021

In reply to @earringsbylulu11 "After countless attempts to get an appointment, having 4 of my Doctors most from UofM. I..." + (show)

Lulu, It sounds like you’ve taken the appropriate steps to seek care at Mayo Clinic. Unfortunately Mayo Clinic has more requests for appointments than available openings. May I ask which department at which Mayo Clinic location you are trying to get an appointment with?

Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Aug 3, 2021

In reply to @cindajune "I’m so sorry. My Drs submitted everything over a month ago but haven’t heard anything from..." + (show)

Cindajune, sometimes referrals can take time, but I might suggest that you contact the Appointment Office http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63 and inquire about the status of your request. Fingers crossed.

cindajune | @cindajune | Aug 3, 2021

In reply to @colleenyoung "Cindajune, sometimes referrals can take time, but I might suggest that you contact the Appointment Office..." + (show)

Thank you very much. I will do that.

happy2bhere | @happy2bhear | Aug 4, 2021

In reply to @lisagraber "Happytobhear. Hello again. Please update me, to let me how you’re doing. I went to a..." + (show)

@lisagraber Hi Lisa, I saw the ophthalmologist at Mayo Red Wing. He was amazing! One of the best doctors I’ve ever known! Great upbeat personality. His assistant also fantastic. Took tons of pictures etc. Then when dr looked at my eyes he was incredibly thorough. He didn’t rush, kept looking. Then he said- he’d gone over everything 4 times and I am 100% healthy eyes! He let it sink in and I couldn’t believe going in thinking I may go blind and now nothing. When I started smiling he said Yay! What a relief. He said he’s looked at thousands of eyes and there is nothing. I can check it off my list! Next oncology on 11th Rochester. I truly appreciated his time. An excellent person who cared enough to be certain. So I say Yay! I hope you are having luck w appointments.

I use an app through research w Cedars-Sinai call Elly. It’s people with different cancers giving daily help in various areas. One made me think of you and some who are here. He said the 200th dr will know what’s wrong. In other words keep going, don’t give up and find that one dr who will be able to give you answers.
Also, I didn’t see your reply, it needs the @ before the name so they will email me. 🙏 My best to you and everyone helping here. This place is gold!

christiane5 | @christiane5 | Sep 20, 2021

I've tried for 3 years to get an app't at any location for rheumatology. I finally got a call 2 weeks ago on Friday and was told to have my rheumatologist submit my records. Mayo Clinic ended up having to call them to get them faxed. The problem is, my rheumatologist does not have all of my lab results. The lab kept sending them to my PCP, instead of my rheumatologist. However, I have the printouts of all my lab results since November, 2019. I was going to fax them myself to the rheumatology dept. first thing Monday morning. Just as I was getting ready to leave to go to UPS to have them faxed, I got a call from Mayo Clinic telling me my records had been received Friday afternoon and had been reviewed and they were sorry but they were declining my request for an app't. I was so devastated. I was diagnosed with both PMR and GCA by my current rheumatologist on my very first app't with him, but my symptoms do not fall in line with PMR. On a subsequent visit, I asked him if he was confident in his diagnosis and he said he was until I mentioned I had severe cramps in my feet. (I actually have them EVERYWHERE and a neurologist is who suggested I see a rheumotolgist.because of the cramps.They are so severe, I literally scream in pain. I call them full-body charley horses)
I had a temporal artery biopsy for GCA that came back negative. I had been on prednisone for 6 months and was told the result would probably be negative because of it, but it would be impossible to tell if it was a false negative because of the prednisone. However, I have had transient vision loss in my right eye that has lasted for over an hour. I'm terrified of losing the sight in that eye completely. I have a non-stop headache behind my eye that I've had for along time.
Is there ANYTHING I can do to try once more for an app't? I'm feeling pretty desperate at this point.

Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Sep 21, 2021

In reply to @christiane5 "I've tried for 3 years to get an app't at any location for rheumatology. I finally..." + (show)

Hi Christiane, welcome. I can imagine that you are feeling disappointed and desperate. You'll notice that I moved your question to this existing discussion where members offer tips on what to do if you can't get an appointment. I invite you to read through the past posts.

If you feel that the Mayo physicians may rule differently with a complete set of your records, I suggest you call Mayo Clinic to ask for a secondary review after you've sent the remaining documentation.

I should add that appointment denial may be related to capacity issues. The department may not be accepting new patients at this time. Again, I would ask for clarification.

Another option is to consider seeing a doctor within the Mayo Clinic Care Network https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/care-network.
"The Mayo Clinic Care Network is a select group of independent health systems that are granted special access to Mayo Clinic's extensive knowledge and world-leading medical expertise. Carefully vetted and selected for their commitment to high-quality patient experience, care network members share Mayo Clinic's goal of providing patients the care they need, close to home, at no additional cost to the patient."

Find a health system in the Mayo Clinic Care Network near you: https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/care-network/network-members

oldkarl | @oldkarl | Sep 22, 2021

In reply to @christiane5 "I've tried for 3 years to get an app't at any location for rheumatology. I finally..." + (show)

@christiane5 I learned, the hard way, that if one is turned down by Mayo for an appointment, there are a few things to do. Turned down once, Submit everything again. Turned down 2x, Call MD Anderson for an appointment. 3x, remember, with Mayo, it is all a matter of money, so sell your house and car, and ask again. 4x, get your own whole genome sequencing, find a good geneticist to help you understand what your genome shows, 5x If that fails, 6x, go to Mexico for treatment. It won't help you, except to make you think you are doing the only thing left, and you will probably have to share your room with a family with 16 children, 3 dogs, a goat and two chickens. (I actually saw this in Piedras Negras a few years ago. The excess family members lived across the street in the homeless camp. They took turns showering in your hospital room. I don't know how the patients who were staying in beds in the hallways managed the showers and toilet arrangements.) 7x find a carnival with a fortune teller or acupuncture artist.

christiane5 | @christiane5 | Sep 22, 2021

In reply to @oldkarl "@christiane5 I learned, the hard way, that if one is turned down by Mayo for an..." + (show)

LOL, thanks for the only laugh I've had in weeks. I actually lived in Mazatlan, Mexico for 8 years. I bought a vacation home on the beach and ended up moving there from northern California and living there full-time. While there, I had 4 surgeries and had EXCELLENT care. Of course, Mazatlan is a city of over half a million people and an expat community of over 25,000. So hospitals like Sharp Hospital - which was affiliated with Sharp Hospital in San Diego - cater to the gringos. I'd go back to my MD in Mazatlan in a heartbeat if it wasn't for Covid. . He NEVER gave up on me when I had a life-threatening MRSA infection ( I did not get it in the hospital), All of my doctors there were trained both in Mexico and then trained in their specialties in the US. My surgeons were all FACS,
I had to leave the hospital the week before Xmas when I had pneumonia to fly back to CA when my mom was dying. I was so sick on Xmas Eve that I called my MD in Mexico who told me to get the first flight back and go straight to the hospital. I flew in early Xmas morning and was admitted to the hospital immediately. He left his family celebration to take care of me, then later brought 2 of his teenage children back with him to bring me flowers and candy. You won't find a doctor like that in the US. I moved back to the states almost 5 years ago and I still text him when I have questions. Did I mention that doctors there work 8am to 9pm, 6 days a week and give you their cellphone numbers to reach them whenever you need to?
Shoot, now I want to go back to Mazatlan.

oldkarl | @oldkarl | Sep 22, 2021

In reply to @christiane5 "LOL, thanks for the only laugh I've had in weeks. I actually lived in Mazatlan, Mexico..." + (show)

😉👍 Thanks. Most of the patients I saw in Piedras were from US, either illegals, citizens or Green Cards.

christiane5 | @christiane5 | Sep 22, 2021

In reply to @colleenyoung "Hi Christiane, welcome. I can imagine that you are feeling disappointed and desperate. You'll notice that..." + (show)

Thank you. I went to a Mayo Clinic affiliated hospital when I lived in AZ. It was the 4th lowest ranked hospital in the entire state. Because it was a teaching hospital and clinic, you never got to see the same MD twice.
The denial was not due to capacity limits. Every other time I've tried for an app't, they told me upfront that they had no available app'ts for a year. This time THEY called ME after I sent in my diagnosis.
It's very frustrating. I am sending in all my lab results with a cover letter and hoping someone actually looks at them.