Does the Mayo Clinic in Arizona diagnose or strictly treat?

I do not think the Mayo coordinator did a good job explaining process. Mayo does diagnosis. In fact if you come to mayo with a diagnosis, they would verify the diagnosis is correct.

I am surprised you were offered an appointment in Internal Medicine, many people on this site have been told they are not accepting new Internal med patients.

For patients with out a diagnosis, Internal Med is starting point to see what tests / specialist the patient should see.

I hope you find an answer for your wife.

Laurie

Hi @springchinook, I agree with @roch. It sounds like communication may not have been clear.

Effective treatment depends on getting the right diagnosis as soon as possible. Mayo Clinic specialists at all locations (AZ, FL, MN, Health System Mid-West, and London, UK) collaborate across disciplines to listen to your story, evaluate your condition from every angle, and develop a diagnosis and treatment plan that's just for you - or this case, your wife.

The demand for appointments with Internal Medicine is very high. If your wife was offered an appointment, I would encourage you to consider it, despite the 6-8 week waiting time. When requesting an appointment, the first question you are asked is to state your primary concern. That can be hard to do when you don't have a diagnosis. They ask this question just to get the ball rolling. Once at your initial consult further appointments with necessary departments will be ordered.

The first step now is to describe your wife's condition as best as possible and supply any information such as medical records, tests, imaging studies, etc. once you have secured the initial consult.

This blog post offers reasons why getting a second opinion can be a good idea:
– Advice on Second Opinions https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/cancer-education-center/newsfeed-post/seeking-second-opinions/

We were not offered an appointment yet. I was told it would be 7-14 days before we get a video interview for them to decide if we will get an appointment. Thanks for your reply.

I am surprised also you are getting an interview..Phoenix AZ. Is telling folks they no longer are taking new Patients..Consider yourself lucky if you get to see a Mayo Clinic Doctor.

I tried to get an appt. with Mayo in Phoenix, as well. I have had long-covid related gastrointestinal issues since Oct. 2021. Have had every test done there is, and they all come normal. I thought like you, that a group of doctors would discuss my symptoms and decide what my best treatment would be. I called them and they won't even make me an appt. They are just too busy and wouldn't even put me on a waiting list. I know how frustrating this is for you, but you are not alone.

Sometimes, I believe that it’s who your doctor knows that can get you in the door there. That’s how I became a patient at Mayo. My Dermatologist knew the doctors at Mayo, and I had a rare disease. It was a perfect storm.

Have you considered Mayo in Rochester? We live in Florida, but went to Rochester for work up and diagnosis. The docs there then placed orders for Mayo Jacksonville.
Just a thought

I have tried to schedule appointments at both Rochester and Phoenix locations. Apparently my symptoms didn't qualify for an appointment at Rochester. And Phoenix was just so busy that they wouldn't schedule me an appointment, or even put me on a waiting list.
I am getting sicker every day and find no place that can help me.

I recently mailed my MRI to Scottsdale and then emailed again to follow up. My neurosurgeon in Reno told me that they didn’t do the minimally invasive spinal decompression that he uses…but this photo shows that they do