Info Desk [Paperwork, ordering, wait times, procedures, booklets, prescriptions...]

Does anyone know how long it actually takes to get blood work results back from the Mayo Clinic labs?

Some people get them via email the very same day.

coastaltiger7 said:Some people actually get them sent to their email on the very same day.

Great, thanks. 🙂

So, I went ahead and booked an appointment with a neurosurgeon online, and they gave me a slot about a month out. My question is, do I actually need to swing by my primary care doctor again to get a fresh referral? Or is the one I already have still good to go, even though it technically hit that thirty-day mark since it was issued? If anyone knows how this works, let me know!

When you sent off that email to order, was that referral still valid at the time? If it was, then it stays good until you actually get your appointment, regardless of when that happens—even if it’s months down the road. If it wasn't, then yeah, you're going to need a new one.

The key is making sure the order is placed within that one-month window while the referral is active. Once that's done, it holds up until the exam is performed.

melloworca6 said:The main thing is making sure you schedule the appointment within that first month while the referral is active—after that, it stays valid until you actually get seen.

Yeah, you’re right about needing to book it within a month, but the referral itself is actually good for a full year from the date it's issued. If you end up getting seen after that one-year mark, you'll just need to grab a new one.

I need to schedule my annual checkup with Dr. Milan Vrkljan, an endocrinology associate professor over at the Mayo Clinic.

Today, I headed down to the local post office to fax over my referral, my most recent medical history, and a contact sheet so they can call me back the moment an appointment opens up.

I ended up wasting two or even two and a half hours just sitting there at the post office. I tried calling the fax line and the central scheduling office repeatedly, but it was all for nothing.

The reason I went in person to use the fax machine is that when I showed up earlier without the paperwork, they told me they don't accept anything via email—it has to be faxed. It actually feels like I tried to book a previous appointment with this same doctor via email once before, and that failed too.

How is it even possible that in an era of such massive digital advancement, they still refuse to accept emails containing scanned referrals, medical histories, and contact details typed right in the body of the message?

I live in a small town where the only places that even own a fax machine are the municipal office, the post office, and maybe three local business owners. I suspect the best time to send a fax would be in the late afternoon or early evening, since the medical staff seems to be in a total rush hour frenzy until about 1:00 PM. Unfortunately, the post office closes its service window at 2:30 PM. I really don't want to go bothering those few local business owners to ask them to run a fax for me in the evenings.

A woman at the post office mentioned that her appointment for Nuclear Medicine—which is located near the endocrinology department—went perfectly smoothly just by sending an email. Her daughter simply took photos of the referral and medical history with a smartphone, emailed them over, and that was that.

But then again, perhaps she wasn't supposed to send it to central scheduling, but directly to the Nuclear Medicine department instead?

I honestly don't know; it's maddening. I desperately need this exam, yet the wait time is six months! Even getting thyroid lab work done involves scheduling at certain hospitals, though you can't do it at the Mayo Clinic. I can't get those labs done at the Mayo Clinic either because they won't approve my travel reimbursement since I have a closer hospital nearby, but even there, you have to schedule an appointment just to get the blood drawn.

Of course you can do it via email. The website spells out the entire process—just Google "centralized scheduling at Vinogradski."
Centralized Patient Scheduling

At St. Jude Medical Center, centralized scheduling is handled across three different locations:
Vinogradski Location
Tel: 01 37 87 593; 01 37 87 958
Fax: 01 37 87 792
E-mail: narucivanje.vinogradska@kbcsm.hr

Ilica Location
Fax: 01 37 13 637
E-mail: narucivanje.ilica@kbcsm.hr

Draskovic Location
Fax: 01 46 97 029
E-mail: narucivanje.draskoviceva@kbcsm.hr

St. Jude Medical Center accepts appointments in person, via fax, or by email.
If you choose to use fax or email, you must include your referrals, medical history, and a contact phone number.
Phone inquiries are only handled between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.
To secure an appointment, you need to email or fax a copy of your referral, previous medical records, and a contact number.

Expect a response regarding your scheduled appointment within five days.

After reflecting on our previous discussion, I found myself arriving at the exact same conclusion.

Is it possible that submitting multiple medical histories via email might be more effective? My most recent summary comes from a specialist consultation, yet prior to that, I have nearly a dozen pages detailing my previous hospitalizations.

There is also a technical complication to consider: when you attempt to scan documents using an ABBYY Fin Reader program, if you select the searchable PDF format, the official stamps often become invisible. To preserve them, one must use an image-based format, which unfortunately makes the files quite cumbersome, as each individual page can weigh 3 or 4 megabytes.

In any case, I have sent over the scanned latest medical history, the referral, and my contact information to every single email address listed in the documentation.

Now, I shall wait five days to see what happens. One can only hope that I will be granted an appointment.

Hey, I’m not really sure if this is the right spot for this, so if anyone could point me toward the right thread or just give me an answer here, I’d appreciate it. Are those free preventive checkups still a thing? And if they are, how does one actually go about getting them done? Thanks for any help

Free preventive screenings for what, exactly? Sure, certain things are covered periodically...

Ah, so that's how it works. I guess I just assumed there was some kind of free systematic option out there or something. Thanks for clearing that up

Free systematic screenings? No. But if you have concerns, go see your primary care physician and get a blood panel done; if they find something concerning, they'll refer you for further testing.
If you're dealing with a specific issue, don't wait—go straight to a specialist.

Does anyone know where I can get a TCD—you know, transcranial Doppler to check for emboli?
Does anyone have recommendations for a hospital in New York City or maybe a private clinic? Thanks!

Nicholas Wells74 said:I eventually remembered the same thing and found that exact same text.

I am just wondering if it might be wiser to email more than just a single medical history report. My most recent summary is from a specialist consultation, whereas prior to that, I have about ten pages detailing my actual hospital stays.

There is also this annoying technical glitch: when you send things via email, if you use Adobe Acrobat Reader to scan documents for the 11th or 12th time, it won't preserve the visible official stamps if you save them as a searchable PDF. You have to use an image format instead, but that makes the emails massive since every single page you scan ends up being 3 or 4 megabytes.

Regardless, I sent over the scanned latest medical summary, the referral, and my contact info to every single email address listed in that document.

Well, I suppose I will wait five days to see what happens. Hopefully, they will schedule me an appointment.

Just wanted to give a quick update: I sent the referral along with just the specialist summary—not the full hospitalization records—and I actually already got an appointment! That was it. I sent the email to all the addresses mentioned in that text, and I didn't even have to wait five days; it only took three or four.

I would have posted this sooner, but I completely lost track of time. Besides, this forum doesn't even send email notifications for subscribed threads anymore, and the option to browse through posts—even my own—hardly works. It is absolutely terrible!

You can find all the relevant threads right here:
Yes, ordering via email works just fine. 😁

Rebecca Johnson said:You won't find any diagnoses listed on your pay stub. It only shows the dates of the leave and the specific type of sick leave taken. They aren't allowed to include the actual diagnosis or even the ICD code—anybody with half a brain could just look up those codes online.

Is this being implemented everywhere?

Some people are saying you should include specific diagnosis codes—and others are arguing against it.

Greetings,

Does anyone happen to know what the typical cost is for a lipoma removal procedure if I don't have supplemental insurance? It's just a straightforward outpatient thing.

So, about two months ago, I finally got my referral sent over to a physical therapist for an evaluation and some initial treatment—you know, the whole works—and it’s good for a year, right? Well, it looks like I managed to lose the damn thing. Now my primary care doctor is giving me the runaround, telling me she can't just print out a new one because there's "no protocol" for replacing lost referrals, basically saying it was my job to keep track of it and now we're both just stuck in limbo. Like, seriously? What am I even supposed to do at this point?

Why shouldn't she simply issue you a new one? There really isn't a reason why that couldn't happen.