Kidney Disease: Does treatment from Mayo produce better outcome?

My first appears is in person. I am hoping that as many as possible can be virtual. I live in Ohio but will travel if the treatment is positive

I have been treated for twenty years with Dr Frank in Urology at Mayo R and was told I was longest living in Mayo’s history with my condition. I’m 74

@engelee Congratulations on having such good results! I'm sure that Dr. Frank is equally proud of your health success story.

You must feel very grateful. Did you begin your treatment at Mayo or did you start with another doctor?

I started at Henry Ford Hosp . In Detroit, but when MD retired went to Cleveland Clinic for annual exam——nothing has compared with Mayo—I hope when the time comes I’m with people I trust 100% at Mayo.

@colleenyoung Thank you for tagging me in to this conversation!

@codered032 I have been a kidney patient for a number of years, and have had several nephrologists. What I have to say is only my experience. You have to feel confident that the medical team working with you has your best interest at heart. Now, that may come from a teaching hospital, a university-connected hospital, or a well-known medical institute. My first nephrologist was connected to the HMO I was a patient in, and he was really good, not worrying if he stepped outside of the guidelines they gave him to follow. When he left the system to go on his own, I followed him. Eventually I changed to another nephrologist who was also very good, and helped me at the start of my current health issues. When I moved 800 miles, the next one was not as interested in my complicated case, and I switched to another dr in his same practice. She is my current dr, and shares my vision for this case I have.

I am not a patient of Mayo Clinic. My oncologist was trained and did his residency at Mayo Clinic [Rochester, MN]. During my years as a patient, what was important was to research your medical team, "interview" them if you feel the need to [to see if they fit what your vision is for care], be an active participant in your own healthcare, and speak up when you feel you have something to address.

Good luck, and I'll be waiting to hear what you have to share with me!
Ginger

I met with a new nephrologist today at Ohio State University. Thanks to all of you who supported me with your experience and suggestions for choosing a new provider. I was well prepared and so was he. I was able to share MyChart with him prior to my appointment, and he and his resident in training reviewed my treatment history in detail. They knew about all of my medical history, prior surgeries, prior and current medications, my lab history etc. They (he and his resident in training) were interested in getting to know me as a person; what did I do before I retired and what my current life style is like now. They talked to me not at me.They examed me for current symptoms of MCD. According to my current labs and symptoms he felt like I was in remission, but order new labs before making any medication changes. I was well prepared also. I researched his education and his medical research background. I asked about his experience with treating MCD and how we as a team could help me meet and maintain my medical maximum improvement. I explained that I might be interested in current research options at OSU. We discussed current and long term treatment options.. My current appointment lasted approximately two hours! All of questions were answered to my satisfaction. He is located 92miles from my home, a lot closer than Mayo. He also agreed to some telemedicine appointments. Since the current treatment options and outcomes for MCD are basically the same I have decided to cancel my appointment with Mayo and receive treatment at OSU for now. Thanks to all who responded to my question, Are the treatment out better at Mayo Clinic? If I lived closer to Jacksonville, based on their treatment model, that would be my first choice.

I met with a new nephrologist today at Ohio State University. Thanks to all of you who supported me with your experience and suggestions for choosing a new provider. I was well prepared and so was he. I was able to share MyChart with him prior to my appointment, and he and his resident in training reviewed my treatment history in detail. They knew about all of my medical history, prior surgeries, prior and current medications, my lab history etc. They (he and his resident in training) were interested in getting to know me as a person; what did I do before I retired and what my current life style is like now. They talked to me not at me.They examed me for current symptoms of MCD. According to my current labs and symptoms he felt like I was in remission, but order new labs before making any medication changes. I was well prepared also. I researched his education and his medical research background. I asked about his experience with treating MCD and how we as a team could help me meet and maintain my medical maximum improvement. I explained that I might be interested in current research options at OSU. We discussed current and long term treatment options.. My current appointment lasted approximately two hours! All of questions were answered to my satisfaction. He is located 92miles from my home, a lot closer than Mayo. He also agreed to some telemedicine appointments. Since the current treatment options and outcomes for MCD are basically the same I have decided to cancel my appointment with Mayo and receive treatment at OSU for now. Thanks to all who responded to my question, Are the treatment out better at Mayo Clinic? If I lived closer to Jacksonville, based on their treatment model, that would be my first choice.