How do I ensure my health history records are on file for first visit?

Hi @bcompson11, I moved your messages to the Visiting Mayo Clinic group here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/traveling-to-mayo-clinic/
You'll get many tips by browsing the topics in the group.

I'll bring @roch @loribmt @jenniferhunter and others into this discussion to help guide you and answer your questions.

@bcompson11 were your medical files transferred to Mayo Clinic during the referral process, either by you or the referring physician?

No there was no referral but they seemed to be able to see my fingers on a computer system that shares all of that

Hi @bcompson11 it sounds as though your current medical provider mright have the EPIC system for medical records. It is the same system Mayo uses. If that’s the case, and you signed a waver allowing Mayo Clinic to view these records, then you shouldn’t have to bring those records with you. But you know, just to be sure, you could call again and double check the dates of the records that the coordinator can see on her computer. That way you’ll know that they are seeing the most current records.

However, if there is any doubt, here is a excerpt from the Mayo Clinic site regarding initial visits and what to bring.

“Do I need to bring my medical records? Or does Mayo Clinic start from scratch?
We encourage you to bring any records related to the medical concern you want addressed. When you request your appointment, ask if your Mayo doctors will expect to see anything specific. Generally, plan to provide:

A letter from your local provider summarizing your medical condition
A list of the medications and dosages you're currently taking
Your immunization record
Copies of any medical record information from providers outside of Mayo Clinic
Any radiologic films, CDs, DVDs, videos or written reports related to your condition
Any pathology slides and written reports from relevant biopsies
If your local provider refers you to Mayo Clinic, he or she will likely submit your medical records for you. If you're visiting without a referral, ask your provider to share your records.

If additional files are needed once you arrive, Mayo will contact your provider. You'll be asked to sign a consent form to release your records.”

When is your appointment at the clinic? Do you need assistance with locating lodging or any other concerns?

I know that Mayo doctors want to see the actual scans and x-rays and not the outside radiologist's report. They do their own reading. In my case, while Mayo and my provider share a database, my doctor needed to submit a specific request to records dept to send out the actual scans, x-rays. And I called the records dept to be sure they were sent and made sure they had arrived. They knew where to send at Mayo because they do it all the time. I also bring copies of specific reports with me. Consider also that doctors have a lot of reports to look at so better to make it easy for them.

i am a new patient for mayo stating in august in jacksonviile fl
i have maill all my records and films to mayo for the spine center 5 south
i know they were delivered on007/07/2022 by the post office but want to make sure the 5 south spine flor has them
jacqueline morella

Hi Jacqueline,
Please call Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville directly to inquire about your records.

Here's the appointment number 904-953-0853.
Or call
Mayo Clinic Spine Center
4500 San Pablo Road
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Phone: 904-953-0775

All the best with your appointment. You may also wish to join the discussion with other members in the Spine Health support group here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/spine-health/

thank you

Hi all,

I hope it's ok that I'm following up on this thread, but I have a similar question.

I've been struggling to get my files sent over to Mayo due to some disorganization at my home hospital: my radiology images were sent properly but my earliest scans were lost, all my doctors' notes and such were sent in a huge unsorted mess that can't have been useful for my doctors at Mayo (I also got a copy of the record so I would know what was sent), and I'm now being told that several departments keep their records separately and so none of those records were included in what was sent to Mayo. I am requesting those documents separately now, but I'm not sure what the best thing to do is once I have them in hand. Once I've tracked them down, do I need to try and get these missing documents sent over to my Mayo doctors before my August 30th appointments, or will my doctors have time during those appointments to look at the materials I bring with me?

So as to make the best use of my time with the doctor, I'm going to organize all the files I have chronologically by specialty and make an overall list of the medications that I was prescribed over the years, but I don't know if there is anything else I should be doing to streamline this part of the process for my appointments. Does anyone have any tips or experiences on what works best?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

@bally102 Welcome to Connect and congratulations on becoming a Mayo patient. I'm glad you joined an existing discussion, and members see this as a new update like I did. I think you will like it at Mayo.

I would suggest to call the department where you will be seen and ask them which of your records they need. Sometimes old records are not useful, but that all depends on what they will be evaluating. When I came to Mayo, it was for spine surgery. They requested all current imaging of the spine of MRIs and X rays within a year, but they didn't need the radiology reports because they will read the images and form their own opinions. They didn't need my neurology nerve and muscle testing because Mayo tests this more extensively and that was in the plan anyway. None of the opinions from other spine surgeons prior to Mayo were important. All those surgeons had denied surgery because they missed understanding some crucial information and had an incomplete diagnosis.

Timeliness matters too because records are sent to an office where they are scanned in ahead of appointments, and I'm not sure how fast that happens. When I arrived at my consult, they handed me printed copies of my records from my other providers to take to my appointments if any of the Mayo doctors wanted to see them. For the most part, the old records didn't interest them except for the imaging, and they did request new MRIs to get the full spine which had never be done before.

What I suggest is to make a list of what records you have by specialty with dates of service; kind of like having a Table of Contents in a book. You could quote the line that states the impression of the doctor. That will be much easier for someone to read before they start digging through a large stack of papers. This will be more efficient and they can concentrate more time on their evaluation.

Are you traveling to get there? Do you need information on accommodations in the area?

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! 🙂

I'm going to prioritize getting my old images then, and I'll sort the other documents as you suggested. I'll give my clinic a call in the morning to find out about how quickly they need things for it to be helpful.

The most frustrating part of all of this is that my hospital actually uses Epic, the same system as Mayo, but because they have contracted with a third party file storage company, they don't use Epic's built in sharing capabilities. I think I can use "share everywhere" in the Epic system when I get there to give the doctors complete access to my medical records at my current hospital, but I'm not sure.

I've already made my travel arrangements, but thanks for offering to help with that! I'm more worried about what I'm going to do to keep busy over the long holiday weekend if I end up staying that long. 🙂