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Referral Policies
Hi - A dear friend has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and hopes to have her surgery at Mayo in Scottsdale. (I had a lobectomy in October for NSCLC.)
She is not currently a Mayo patient and would like to move all of her healthcare to Mayo though was told that primary care is closed to new patients. She is OK with that but does have a question that no one has been able to answer. Are there any specialty services that require an internal referral? She also has cardiac and renal conditions (and others) and is concerned that she won't be able to receive specialty services because her primary care is not a Mayo physician. Anyone know what the policy is?
Thank you!
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@cherylannw, patients can self-refer to Mayo Clinic or have their physician make the referral. You can find out more here: http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63
Many Mayo Clinic patients go to Mayo for complex and serious illness, while having a local non-Mayo primary care physician. Also many patients see multiple specialists at Mayo Clinic for different conditions. I'm tagging a few members who are familiar with the Arizona location to share their experiences with you like @estrada53 @danab @irolson39 @mapleleafs @maguiregirl @mercuryrose @mpeters @healthytoday and others.
Some members with lung cancer experience like @sakota @richcolleen @vic83 @burrkay @meka @elimseoj @gecko512 are also familiar with Mayo Clinic, although perhaps not specifically the Scottsdale, AZ campus.
Cheryl, has your friend already submitted an appointment referral or request for lung cancer surgery?
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1 Reaction@colleenyoung, although we moved from Michigan to New Mexico 20 years ago, we have always gone to Rochester, Minnesota. After 16 months there this last time, my wife enjoyed several more months of good life before the lung cancer took her. In 2007 we spent 9 months in Rochester for her breast cancer and she was able to enjoy 15 years of good life. It is difficult to explain how wonderful the care teams are there.
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4 ReactionsHi, As Colleen mentioned I am a lung cancer patient at Mayo Clinic Rochester and here is my experience:
1) I have traditional Medicare so I could self-refer to Mayo when I saw my CT and PET scans. I had the actual scans sent to Mayo and was called the next day and given an appointment and scheduled for surgery several weeks later.
2) I had an event where I went to local ER before my Mayo appointment, and they found elevated Troponin. They did an angiogram and discovered severe blockage, but I did not do a stent at the time because of blood thinners which would have made me delay my lung surgery. So, I was put on medication.
3) With VAT surgery at Mayo I was diagnosed with multifocal lung cancer so I do not know if and when I might do another lung surgery.
I wanted to be sure my medical needs and solutions were well coordinated so I asked my Mayo Pulmonologist to refer me to Mayo Cardiology for a Consult on whether I needed to do stent or could stay on medication. I had an immediate appointment. Mayo decided to do a stent and I had it done promptly at Mayo.
4) Stents require only standard follow-up and the Doctor/Instructor that actually did my stent transferred to Minneapolis Heart Institute which of course is only a few miles for me compared to Mayo which is 90 miles. That was nice and convenient, so I see him for follow-up, and he knows my case since he put in the stent. Otherwise, I would have continued with Mayo for Cardiac follow-up
5) I caught Covid while on the dual Platelet medication for stent and had to go to Mayo for alternative treatment since one cannot take Paxlovid with Plavix. Mayo actually called me when they saw the State record of positive Covid people. My local doctor's clinic could not guarantee me the treatment within necessary time - must be given within 7 days the sooner the better. My primary suggested I use my Mayo connections!
6) I had lung pleurisy issue and my Mayo Pulmonologist suggested I see my local Rheumatologist for testing in case lungs impacted by autoimmune issue ...I know it is difficult to get a prompt appointment for Rheumatology at Mayo so I did not try.
6) It would be nice to have a Primary Care doctor at Mayo .... but it is not practical since it is a two-hour drive - too far for an emergency or for something little! I found a young Primary Care doctor locally (in the same clinic as my cardiologist) and I am training him on my conditions and his clinic knows I am a Mayo Patient. I have my Mayo records copied to my Primary Care doctor and anything important sent to Mayo.
Given my serious but well managed health conditions, if I have anything else that is significant, I will request to be treated at Mayo always with the objective of strategic coordination of care. For the small stuff I do it locally.
But Mayo is a research institution and teaching hospital, so they are selective in what they treat.
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4 ReactionsIt's not unusual for us to train our physicians! Be well and thank you for sharing!
Thank you all for responding. My friend contacted Mayo yesterday and found that her insurance is not accepted. I'm not familiar with what exactly she has but apparently her out-of-pocket expenses would be prohibitive. We tried!
Good health to all! Cheryl
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1 ReactionBest of luck and prayers coming your way.
I am a lung cancer patient also. Very pleased with their(Drs. , nurses and ALL staff)! work.