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Not being able to see an actual gastro doc at Mayo
I wrote before but I had an appointment with one of my other docs at mayo yesterday. Extremely concerned about my condition and asking why I am not yet on a feeding tube for nutrition. Told me to call and ask to get an appointment with an actual doc there and not just the NP. I been told this twice. They say there is nothing they can do, it is up to the gastro dept. My hepatologist even wrote them herself. had zero luck. So again, at their suggestion, I called and explained and again was told it is not possible to get an appointment with one of the doctors and I have to keep seeing the NP, who seems a bit over her head and is not listening to my other actual docs there. In the meantime I am eating less than 300 cals a day for months. Looks like I have to leave Mayo and find someone else. I was in hopes they all worked together as a team and one doc would get with the others and collaborate on how to treat my condition. This has not been the case. Not one of the docs I see even knows what the other is saying or doing. Is this normal? I am so disappointed.
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Ask directly for the Gastro Dept , which Mayo Clinic ( which city )?
If it’s Jacksonville FL , I have a Gastro Dr I saw there after 6 months waiting, then went up for more tests .
I may have the direct number to his nurse , if you want it . Seems ridiculous you can’t see a Gastro Dr from there not just NP . Sorry you have to deal with that .
I went after 8 years and a million tests and re tests and I’m still at square one ☝️. It’s horrible.
It was the gastro dept that I spoke too...twice now! My hepatologist and the pther actual docs there are the ones that told me to call and get that appt and made notes. They said once I was seeing the NP they can not have me see anyone else in that dept. So all my other people at Mayo were upset and said I need to do something now so go elsewhere. I am upset that notes between docs are not seen or considered or whatever because one reason I went all the way to Mayo is they are supposed to work as a team. They told me they would forward my request to see an actual doc to their supervisor...whatever that means, and it has been a week. Silence. In the meantime here I am still unable to eat more than 200 cals a day lately. Just seems this is not normal Mayo experience. Sucks that is mine.
@gastrogirl, you're right that this is not the normal Mayo experience. I recommend that you talk to someone at the Office of Patient Experience. A Patient Experience mediator can address concerns about your care experience at Mayo Clinic. You can fill out the online feedback form or contact them by email or phone. Here's the information:
Office of Patient Experience
https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/patient-experience
Phone: 844-544-0036 (toll free)
Email: opx@mayo.edu
I hope you get some resolution and team care.
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3 ReactionsWhich Mayo Clinic are you trying to go to ( or went to ) ? They have your medical records and any referrals they need right ?
I been going to Jacksonville for over 6 months now. I been through tests...seems like hundreds, biopsies, I have a team of doctors but my gastro has always only been the NP.
Ask to see Dr. A. Koop MD , he’s a Fellow but you may have better luck with him . That’s who I have . He did his Internship there too .
In Gastro Dept .
Same here at Mayo in Eau Claire, WI. IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE A GASTRO DR. They only do the surgical procedures and one sees the nurse practitioner first AND AFTER. So frustrating but lucrative for the clinic.
Everyone else I talk to has only seen a doctor there. I thought I was the only one so TY for the input. My confusion comes from my Hepatologist, she is the actual doctor, the nutritionist and the therapist, who the NP handed me over to for medicine, all say I need to see the doctor because of my condition worsening rapidly and because meds are not the way to go with me. So now I sit in limbo. The NP will only do meds. Seems I have to leave. TY for sharing that with me.
Maybe you can go outside the Mayo system? Not many choices where I live.
They refuse to let me see anyone else. Told me I am stuck with the NP they gave me and they are unable to schedule me to see anyone else.