Re-using past tests? Need help submitting files to Mayo Clinic

Hello @88lance and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You ask a very good question, especially since you said you've just had these tests done in the last 1-5 weeks.

I can only go off of personal experience with family members who have transferred their care here through referrals or otherwise. It has been their experience that all previous records and testing is typically requested and at that point and depending on the provider, some tests may need to be done again if, for example, the imaging isn't conclusive or to their standards.

I am going to bring in @johnbishop @artscaping @sueinmn and @jenniferhunter who may be able to share their own experiences with regard to this testing question.

Have you shared your preference to use as many test results as possible given that they were just performed?

Great, that k you for the response. I did mention that most of them are very recent, but she didn't seem to care. Maybe the doctor will feel differently and consider some of them.
It would be great to hear more experiences from those you mentioned, I'm hoping that it will save a little bit of time and money bringing the completed tests

@88lance, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @amandajro and others. My primary care is part of the Mayo Health Systems and my doctor would order tests prior to a referral to the Rochester Mayo Clinic which would be seen by specialist. I've also had to have additional tests done after being referred to the main clinic. It's been my experience that the doctors work as a team with other doctors and sometimes additional tests are needed as part of the diagnosis and treatment. I'm sure they will take tests you've had done into consideration unless it's something that really needs to be done. I also think it would be helpful to discuss your concerns about the tests you've already had when you have your appointment.

Thank you for the response. I'm sure additional testing will be needed, since the problem is still not solved after all the tests I have done. I just hope I don't have to redo a 3,000 dollar MRI or something similar when I have a new one I just completed.
I have not been assigned a doctor yet, but maybe when they make the appointment they will let me contact him.
I was happy to see that they are assigning me to a neuro-Opthalmologist, which is who I was planning on going to next anyway. It seems like they may be starting a little bit ahead at least, instead of the very bottom.

Hi there @BBlance, I have a bit different experience with tests than John. As a caregiver, I found that Mayo Clinic did accept my life partner's recent MRI before his prostate surgery. However, post-surgery, all of the follow-up blood tests are sent directly to Mayo for analysis. Only the actual blood draw is done in another facility. And because of the possibility of accidentally releasing cancer cells into the body, all biopsies must be done at Mayo Clinic.

The bottom line......if there is a good reason for repeating tests or controlling tests then it makes all the sense in the world to have restrictions.

May you be free, safe, and protected from inner and outer harm.
Chris

@88lance Thanks, Amanda for inviting me to this discussion. I came to Mayo for spine surgery on my neck. When I sent my records, I sent an MRI of my cervical spine that was 7 months old and that was sufficient for informing my spine surgeon and getting an appointment. Generally with spine imaging, they consider it to be current if it is within a year and I did not need to redo it. I had not had an MRI of my thoracic or lumbar spine, and I requested that Mayo do this to rule out spine issues in areas other than my neck. I had pain all over my body and I and my doctors thought the pain was generated by spinal cord compression in my neck, so with complete imaging of my spine, it helped them to know I didn't have a problem somewhere else. That is important with spine surgery because they need to confirm where the problem is before they operate.

I had seen several other spine surgeons that year before I came to Mayo, so I had spent a lot for those appointments, and I had nerve conduction & EMG tests done twice. I had one epidural injection done as a diagnostic test. None of those surgeons wanted to help me, so I contacted Mayo. Mayo does their nerve conduction & EMG test a bit differently and it more thorough, and the spine surgeon ordered that, so I had that test done again at Mayo. I also had a prior diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, and Mayo tested me to confirm that and sent me to a consult with a thoracic surgeon. The reason to do that is because my spine problem and TOS create similar pain symptoms, so a decision had to be made on which problem was causing the major symptoms. I spent so much that year before coming to Mayo, that I hit my out of pocket maximum for my insurance during the testing at Mayo which meant that my spine surgery done in the same calendar year was at no cost to me.

The people you have been communicating with may not know what is needed. You will be assigned to a doctor who takes and directs your case, and they will refer you to other departments as needed, so the initial decisions are made by that doctor. If you are referred to another specialist, they may want to order testing. I think they will accept your recent MRI if it shows what they need to see. You can always discuss costs with your doctor there. Mayo is thorough in looking at all the issues that you have, and they should be because other health issues can affect the outcome. I hope that helps. I understand how stressful this can be.

Thank you for the replies, it will be helpful to be assigned a doctor, and then things will probably be more clear when he starts on my case and puts a plan together.
How does the timeline for that work? Before your appointment is scheduled, do they contact you and tell you that you are assigned a doctor, and then he starts planning everything and studying your case, and then an appointment is made?
Or do they just call and say "hey your ready to go, this guy is your doctor, and your appointment is Tuesday."
I have the option to go get more tests done, a neuro-Opthalmologist appointment with a test, and a TMJ therapist with a face x-ray, I'm kind of on the fence about whether to go do these for now and hope the problem is discovered, or just wait in case I end up wasting my money more.
Of course, Mayo might use those results anyway, so maybe it's not a waste to have them done.
Just thinking out loud at this point, but your opinions on all this is greatly appreciated 😊

@88lance After I had sent my records and appointment request, about 6 weeks later a person called me from Mayo to offer me an appointment with a spine surgeon in a week because they had a cancellation to fill. You can get a call like that, so be prepared to schedule travel arrangements quickly. When you accept the appointment, they create a document of instructions of where you need to be seen that gives the building, floor and desk number where you will report. It will be online in your patient portal and I think they mail it if there is time.

I had 2 days scheduled on my list for a neurologist on day 1, and spine surgeon on day 2. The first day was my appointment with the neurologist, and based on his exam, he scheduled nerve conduction testing, blood work, and the testing for thoracic outlet syndrome in the vascular lab, and the consult with the thoracic surgeon. They printed out a new instruction list with the added appointments. The nerve testing was done at the end of day 1, and the vascular tests and consult were scheduled early on day 2 before I saw the spine surgeon. While I was at the spine consult, the surgeon's phone rang and it was the thoracic surgeon who was calling with my thoracic outlet results that I had seen only an hour earlier so he stepped out of the room and they discussed my case.

I also had an MRI scheduled, but those are usually filled for a couple days, so that was done after my spine consult. I had an event that weekend, so I returned to Mayo the next week for the MRI. The neurologist met me and went over the MRI. I had to wait about 2 weeks for one of the blood test results. After that came back good, then I was able to schedule my spine surgery for a return trip.

If you are waiting to see if Mayo will accept your case, it may be best to wait on doing other testing before you go to Mayo. Your consultant at Mayo needs to see you first, and then decide what they need to. If there is anything they want done ahead of time, they would let you know. That doctor becomes your main contact at Mayo. I later came back to see a pulmonologist, and that doctor was assigned for me by my spine surgeon. Mayo's testing can be different or more extensive than other places, and some tests rely on the skill of the doctor doing it. That was true for my nerve and EMG tests because those are only as accurate as the doctor who gets the electrode in the right place, so results can vary.

You may want to call your insurance and ask about how much of your deductible has been met and to find out if Mayo is in network. They do have people behind the scenes who get insurance pre-authorizations for tests as needed and they will talk to you about that when it comes up.

So to answer your question, yes, it will be a call that you can have an appointment with your assigned specialist on a particular date. You may want to check out hotel listings and logistics. Many hotels have shuttles to take patients to the Clinic, and you can drive there and park at Mayo parking, but that can fill up, so if that is the plan, the earlier you get there, the better.

I can relate, draining my savings to go stay in Jacksonville Florida. First appt at mayo is on the 3rd. They will be able to see last tests through their system. I heard as well they do their own testing for its done differently than a normal Dr appt. You never are sitting down, your on the go to go have all these tests done. They say it's kinda nice 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Great information, thank you both.
I'll go ahead and check out places to stay and get a plan together for the travel and accommodation.
It's hard to know when the first appointment will be, since there could be a cancellation. I have a 3 week trip planned somewhere else, I assume I'll have time to do that before it's time to go there.
My insurance is just some private insurance that covers 60-80% of a doctor visit, 6 times in one year, which I have already met. So now I'm on my own. They do have a second part for hospital stays, if something big happened or I needed a surgery, I pay 3,000 dollars and then they pick up the rest of the bill, without limit. But as far as testing and visits go, it's on me it sounds like.
Testing being on the go being back to back sounds good, especially if I'm paying for accommodation there, and flights. So many things in life are on hold while I deal with this irritating situation, so the faster they test everything and figure it out, the better. I'm definitely ready. Haha