Getting a 2nd opinion at Mayo Clinic

@bravesfan, how are you doing?

Greetings, I am in need of a second opinion. I am the son of an aging adult who needs a second opinion following a most recent hospitalization. The attending physician and hospital administration are unwilling to refer or sign paperwork for this patient/family request. Is there another way to get any On-Call Physician or Hospital to accept a patient needing an immediate follow-up opinion?

Hi @mindmapper, you can self-refer to Mayo Clinic on behalf of your parent. Get started here: http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

Is your parent currently in hospital?

No, my mom was discharged from the Huntsville Hospital (Huntsville, AL), Fri, Sept 29th, 2023.

If I can refer, I will.

Arthur Henderson
for Earline Henderson

>>>>>>

Hi @mindmapper, how are you and your mom doing?

Not good, we can’t get a single physician or hospital to get a second opinion.

Is there anything more dire than that? How can that be in America?

I have no more respect for the medical field with an ailing parent who is not able to get the total care that she needs.

I need a second opinion about COPD pulmonologist sent me home from hospital saying was nothing else they can do because of lung infection they can't get rid of asked if I wanted to die in hospital or home. This was in MAY

Hi @mntwoodsman. That was quite a statement from your doctor…and pretty grim! No wonder you’d like a second opinion.

Here’s a link for the Mayo Clinic where you can request an appointment. You’ll get a prompt for ‘new patient’ and click there. Then you can decide on which Campus is most convenient for you and either make the phone call or apply online.
http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63
Have you tried another doctor locally? Do you know the type of fungal infection that is in your lungs?

Can anyone explain the Mayo "self-referral" policy? I have tried over and over to "self-refer" and I get absolutely nowhere. From my esperience, it seems if you are a Mayo patient you MUST go through your "Mayo Dr". It is infuriating to me, because "my Mayo Dr" is a neurologist I was referred to, who I have had a falling out with because I had the audcactity to speak up to about things he was saying to me. In my initial referral to this Dr, he referred me to many Mayo Drs who did tests on me. Many things were found, but because he was my "main Dr", very little was followed up on. But, everytime I try to "self-refer", I am directed to go back to this neruoologist, who [pardon me] is worthless, in my experience! Is there any answer to this? Colleen Young, and Lori, if you have the "inside into" on this, I would appreciate your help. Oh, I should add that I have tried to go through the "request appt" related directly to a Dr I would like to see, but you are then contacted by scheduling and get the same response< that you must go through your Mayo Dr! I could understand this more if "my Dr " was my PCP, but I don't have a PCP at Mayo and fear I would run into the same frustration if I tried to get established with a mayo PCP. I am so, so, so frustrated! I was advised my others, about my experience with this Dr, to report it to the Office of Patient Experience [think I have the right title], and I finally did not, but never got any response from them, so I see this as a dead-end street, too! As I am writing this, I am asking myself if Mayo is really for me, considering all the experiences I have had with them!!
P

@pkh3381, if you are already a current Mayo Clinic patient, then it is best to get a referral to another Mayo Clinic department or physician through your existing Mayo physician. You can make this request through the patient portal.

However, in your case, you do not wish to make this request through your current Mayo neurologist. In that situation, it is recommended that you contact the Office of Patient Experience.

Mayo Clinic Office of Patient Experience
Phone: 844-544-0036 (toll free)
Email: opx@mayo.edu
https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/patient-experience
It sounds like you may have already contacted them. I encourage you to contact them again if the case is not resolved.