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

How are you looking at this? It seems clear to me that a GP can't really reach a definitive conclusion without running some tests first. I suspect the issue might not actually be with the feet themselves, but rather something else entirely—perhaps related to the heart or the kidneys? If that were the case, what kind of specialist referral would they typically issue?

Just head over to your primary care physician. Tell them what symptoms you're dealing with and let the doctor actually do the job they went to medical school for and get paid for. You can't even get a referral without seeing your GP first anyway, so guessing on a forum about why someone's legs are swelling is just getting nowhere fast.

It could be anything. Best to leave the guesswork and testing to the professionals. If it's heart issues, talk to a cardiologist; if it's kidneys, see a nephrologist.

Has anyone here recently scheduled an MRI appointment? I am trying to gauge what the current wait times look like in our area. I suspect I’m going to need one for this knee issue, but if the backlog at the local hospital is too extensive, I will likely just have to pay out of pocket and go through a private clinic instead. 🙂

What does this code, MCS_141136/013F8C654FBA000058FE, actually mean on a psychiatric referral?

Thomas Murphy said:What does this code, MCS_141136/013F8C654FBA000058FE, mean on my psychiatric referral?

That’s just the name of the software provider—the company behind the system your primary care physician uses to manage records and generate referrals (the MCS group).

Not sure where else to post this, so I'll just leave it here.

I've been going to the same eye clinic at the Mayo Clinic for ten years now. Every single time I call to book an appointment, they give me a date that's at least a month or a month and a half out.

I finally managed to get someone on the phone this morning after about a thousand tries, and the woman gives me this date: January 14th, 2014. 🙏

Can someone please explain what's going on? How did the wait go from a month to six months? To make matters worse, I lost my glasses, and she had the nerve to tell me she couldn't squeeze me in sooner and that if I didn't want the appointment, I shouldn't bother booking. Has anyone else dealt with them? I’d go somewhere else, but I really value Dr. Jefferson's opinion and want to talk to him about laser surgery. But until January 14th? Who knows if I'll even be around.

Just send over the order via email. You might actually snag an earlier slot that way..

Daniel Cooper40 said:I'm not sure where to post this, so I guess I'll just leave it here.

For ten years, I've been going to the same eye clinic at the Mayo Clinic for checkups. Every single time I call to schedule, they give me a date that’s maybe a month or a month and a half out from when I called.

I finally managed to get through to someone this morning—after about a thousand calls, really—and the woman gives me a date of January 14, 2014. 🙏

Can someone please explain what is happening? How did the wait jump from a month to six months? To make matters worse, I lost my glasses, and she just had the nerve to tell me they can't see me sooner and that if I don't want the appointment, I shouldn't book it. Has anyone else dealt with them? I’d go somewhere else, but I really value Dr. Juratovac and wanted to consult him about laser surgery. But by January 14th, who knows if I'll even be around.

Hey! How's it going? Look, I don't know how much this will help, but this is what I did: I didn't have these exact issues, it was more my retina acting up (not going to bore you with the details), but basically, on a day that your doctor, Juratovac, is actually working, just get up early and head straight to the Mayo Clinic emergency room. They'll take you in and the doctors on duty will examine you; you'll get some paperwork, and with that paper, you can bypass the line to see that specific doctor. Tell them you lost your glasses and your eye hurts—basically, that you can't function. They're supposed to see you. That's how I handled it, so maybe give it a shot. I know exactly what you mean; usually, you're looking at a one to three-month wait. Is that even reasonable?

Whether you agree with what feralgardener503 wrote or not, unfortunately, this is just how some things get handled here in America. 😁

What’s the issue with waiting six and a half months to consult an eye clinic about laser vision correction? Is laser surgery some kind of emergency? Can’t it wait?

feralgardener503 said:Just tell them you lost your glasses and your eye hurts. That way, you're "unable to function."

You can read just about anything in here, it seems.

I really hope they implement a model where anyone showing up at the ER without a legitimate emergency gets billed accordingly. They should pay dearly for it.

Since I pay my health insurance premiums religiously every single month, I expect to actually receive medical services when I need them—not after waiting months on end. This whole logic of prioritizing state revenue while leaving patients out in the cold just doesn't add up to me.

Sandra Brooks91 said:I pay my health insurance premiums every single month. In return, I expect service when I actually need it—not after waiting months on end. This whole logic of prioritizing the national budget over the actual patients seems fundamentally flawed to me..

Do you honestly think medical services are instant everywhere else? That people don't face wait times for specialists in other countries either?

And frankly, how would you solve this? Specifically regarding strabismus—how do you fix the issue when there are roughly 200,000 Americans dealing with crossed eyes, yet the number of available ophthalmologists is barely enough to count on one hand?

By pretending certain cases aren't urgent? While some child, perhaps already struggling with vision loss, sits on a waiting list for that same specialist?

Very classy. 😢

It honestly doesn't matter if we're talking about a child, a young adult, or a senior citizen... to me, everyone deserves access to medical checkups whenever they need them.

Sandra Brooks91 said:Everyone deserves access to medical checkups whenever they need them.

Sure, they do. But I’ll ask you one more time: how do you actually pull that off given the current shortage of doctors?

The right exists on paper, but in the real world—it's impossible to fulfill.

So, what's the move?

Do we just lie about who needs care first? Is that your solution? You even put a smiley face on a proposal like this, so I have to wonder...

And let's be clear: the specific diagnosis doesn't change the math. There is such a thing as triage. Not everyone can be seen at once; someone has to be prioritized. Just because an individual feels their issue is the most urgent doesn't mean we should resort to dishonesty just to jump the line.

This is basically that textbook ethics dilemma you'd see in a college philosophy seminar—is it morally justifiable to break into a pharmacy to steal life-saving medication for someone who simply can't afford it? I think my position is pretty clear: when human life and health are on the line, the rules change. Besides, I suspect we're drifting off-topic here. 😉

Sandra Brooks91 said:I believe my position is clear. When it comes to health matters, we are drifting off-topic.😉

Yes, it's perfectly clear—lying just to reach an early conclusion.😢

Look, calling this slander is a stretch. I didn't resort to lies; I acted out of absolute necessity. My needs are urgent, and responding to them isn't lying. Regards.

Maria Fisher46 said:What’s the big deal if someone has to wait six months to see a specialist about LASIK? Is laser eye surgery some kind of life-or-death emergency that just can't wait?

I guess you can read just about anything on this board.

I really hope they finally implement that model where people get billed heavily for showing up at the ER when it isn't actually an emergency. That would be something.

Good afternoon! Now that we're part of the European Union, I'm fairly certain things will finally get organized. Up until now, doctors and medical staff weren't being held accountable, and nobody really knew what they were doing. Now, someone else will be overseeing them.

I honestly just hope they start charging people a fee for showing up at the ER with nothing but nonsense. It’s like the rest of us—the ones actually waiting for routine checkups and follow-ups—are just complete idiots who don't care about our own health or our families'. We're clearly just being "smart" by rushing to the emergency room, exaggerating every little thing just to skip the line and get seen immediately.

Meanwhile, someone's mother, father, or child is stuck in the waiting room, unable to see anyone because the doctors and all the equipment are tied up with non-emergencies. As much as I despise the American healthcare system, I see people here practically begging for it to start hitting them in the wallet. Maybe if everything cost a fortune, people would finally learn to appreciate what we actually have.

The argument that "I pay my insurance premiums, so why should I wait?" is absolutely ridiculous. What, do the people waiting on diagnostic tests and screenings not pay their insurance either? What happens when everyone starts acting like they're entitled to every single thing in the world?
For God's sake, we live in a country where people are waiting months for chemo because the monthly drug quota ran out—which is exactly what we're discussing here. So what kind of "rights" and "demands" are we even talking about? Our healthcare system is fundamentally broken. It's not the patients' fault, and it's not the doctors, nurses, or lab techs' fault either. You're aiming your anger at the wrong target.

melloworca6 said:What if we all just started acting like we actually had some rights in this world?

Maybe then politicians would finally take us seriously and address the systemic issues causing these endless delays and frustrations? But no, it's much easier to just roll over, follow orders, and sit around waiting indefinitely... while we continue to vent our frustrations on forums like this. 😁