Out of state - how to get referred to multiple departments

@jwool89, I'm glad you were able to get an appointment with pulmonology as alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is your root concern. As you mentioned, it is known that AAT raises your risk for lung and other diseases, like liver and GI issues. The Mayo pulmonologist will be your main physician and will order referrals to related departments during your visit at Mayo Clinic - your quarterback, so to speak.

Hotels in Rochester offer patient rates and flexibility for shortening or lengthening stays. I recommend contacting Mayo Clinic's free concierge services for planning and recommendations:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/minnesota/concierge-services
In person: Concierge Services desk
Mayo Building (lobby level, in the International Center)
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
No appointment necessary
By phone 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Friday: 507-538-8438
Email: concierge@mayo.edu

You may also find these related discussions helpful:
- First Visit to Mayo Clinic: How do appointments work? What to expect?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/new-internal-med-patient/
- Tips for your first Mayo Clinic visit and tests/appt schedules
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tips-for-first-dr-visit-and-testsappt-schedules/

Did pulmonology give you an idea of how many days you should plan your visit for? Have you downloaded the patient portal?

@jwool89 I'd like to underline the comment from @colleenyoung that your "quarterback" will be the pulmonologist that you plan to see at Mayo Clinic. I have been a patient at Mayo Clinic for 5 years. We drive about 250 miles from our home in Michigan to Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I can assure you that if the pulmonologist at Mayo Clinic refers you to other departments, those appointments will be scheduled, if at all possible, while you are already at Mayo Clinic. I know it's difficult to plan how long you will stay in Rochester and your flight back home however as @colleenyoung wrote the hotels are very accustomed to extending their guests' stay as needed. As for your flight back home it is fortunate that airlines no longer charge those exorbitant change fees.

Your appointments and contacts will be on the Mayo Clinic patient portal. It's possible that you already have been scheduled for tests or other appointments ordered by the pulmonologist. Have you checked the Mayo Clinic patient portal?

I am in a similar situation with Mayo in Rochester. I got an appointment in pulmonology for my Bronchiectasis without a referral. I'm going in on July 17th for CT, pulmonary function test, sputum, and see the doctor on the 18th. I also wanted to been seen by GI for reflux testing (the likely cause of my bronchiectasis) and I had a referral from my FL GI doctor -- I was denied an appointment with Mayo GI. When I called the pulmonary department to ask for an additional appointment with a respiratory therapist for help with airway clearance techniques I was told that I had to wait to see the doctor and he'd make necessary referrals, but wouldn't do anything until I had been seen.

I decided to just let the system work the way they do it. It would have been helpful if someone had explained that approach to me at the beginning just to set expectations. Everyone I've dealt with at Mayo has been very helpful and personable, however. I'm just going with the flow.

Hello @jwool89. One great resource we have for Mayo patients is Patient Travel Services (PTS). These are licensed travel agents that are able to help with travel bookings (flights, ground transport and hotels). Some benefits of PTS doing the bookings is they can rearrange those bookings for you if your clinic schedule changes, and you don’t have to stress all those arrangements. They are also able to get discounts that are available to Mayo patients. PTS can be reached by phone 866-551-3392, or by email, mayopatienttravel@mayo.edu.

Hope this helps with your upcoming trip to Rochester.

Usually, the way things work is that you’ll see the main provider/team who will coordinate your care, and when you have the evaluation, they’ll determine what other consultations or tests need to be done and put in orders for you to schedule those appointments. That’s probably why GI told you to wait until you get there; in the more high volume departments with more demand, you have to have an internal order (or get an appointment through the outside referral or appointment request system) to schedule.

You are correct that it is extremely difficult for planning purposes. For GI, I can tell you from my experience getting into GI at Rochester, it was a no-go. The person on the phone sounded like he was trying to stifle a scoff, because I guess it’s a high volume department. But things could have changed.

I don’t know if there’s much to get around it though. You might be able to schedule the appointments while you’re there, or you might have to return, or they may do telehealth.

You could try contacting Pulmonology and ask how long they think you may need to stay. If there’s a nurse or coordinator or other team member who reviews cases before you get there, you may be able to ask for an order for a GI consult before you go. But not every department is set up like that. It may best to call Pulmonology and ask if there’s anything you could do.

Thank you! I just happened to stumble upon Mayo Connect yesterday. I didn't really understand exactly the benefit of continuum of care at Mayo Clinic until reading some posts and am so happy I scheduled here. I'm with good specialists at home but nobody works together nor truly understands how Alpha-1 affects so many other areas. I'm confident I will be in great care now and will see other specialists as my pulmonologist sees fit.

I did and Mayo did a great job of scheduling everything in one day! That never happened to me at National Jewish in Denver when I traveled to be seen there. I left the rest of my week flexible and will go with the flow. Luckily hotels and flights are easy to change.

Thank you for the input. I figured gastroenterology is a popular one and I could tell when I called they are used to getting this question. There was no way to get any idea before I go but that is okay. I left things open on the back end.

I agree with setting expectations but I do understand why they want you to see your main physician first. I'm sorry to hear you have bronchiectasis. I'm not there (yet) but do know how unsettling it is. Luckily I have done a lot of your tests already and everything I need to do at Mayo can be done in one day. I know that can change. Just looking forward to seeing what this hospital has to offer after all I have been through.

@jwool89 Thank you for letting me know about your schedule. This kind of scheduling never happened for me anywhere else either.