Mayo Clinic

I used to think Mayo Clinic was THE place to go in the US for medical care. Not anymore.

We attempted to have my husband seen there by internal medicine for a chronic lyme disease and mold infection issue and after filling out multiple pages of online forms they required plus submitting test results, they declined to see him. The "best" part of this is they didnt tell us. No call, letter, email, nothing. We waited and waited for a reply (weeks, when we were told it would take one week for someone to get back to us), only to have them say they dont think they can help my husband.

But, if we wanted to, we could submit again to one specific doctor there. What? Why would we bother doing that? Just to be ignored then turned down again?

The issue is we don't know what is the best way to approach this and are looking for help.

Something happened over there since Ive heard this now from 2 other people who had a similar experience.

My advice: dont bother. Find someplace else where they care about people.

The Radiology Department at the Rochester Mayo made mistakes, causing me to have multiple repeat images taken. This happened on July 25, 2024.

They gloss over the severity of these extra images and offer no concern or apology. They are extremely dismissive, as if I don't matter and the potential harm of these extra images is of no concern to them. It's frightening to receive radiation at the Mayo Clinic. It's also upsetting because they violated my privacy rights.

I explicitly refused to have 'students' watch my procedure, but they allowed them anyway. I am outraged, and after reading other bad reviews about the Rochester Mayo, I expect this to be ignored. They cover up and dismiss complaints. I advise not going to the Rochester Mayo.

It's not what it seems. It's not better.

You have been warned. Their skills are not superior, especially those of the Radiology Department at the Breast Center Gonda Building.

The radiology department at the Rochester Mayo made mistakes causing me to have multiple repeat images taken. This took place July 25, 2024.

They gloss over the severity of these extra images and offer no concern, apology and are extremely dismissive - like I don't matter and the potential harm of these extra images are of zero concern to them. It's frightening to get radiation at the Mayo clinic. It's frightening also bcuz they violated my privacy rights when I said explicitly no to having "students" in to watch my procedure and they allowed them anyway. I am outraged and after reading other bad reviews from Mayo Rochester, I expect this to be swept under the rug.

They cover up and dismiss complaints. Do not go to the Rochester Mayo. It's a ruse. It's not better.

You have been warned. They are not more skilled, especially the radiology department at the breast center Gonda building.

I have a 2mm berry aneurysm, I went to a neurologist to see if they were going to do anything about it.

The neurologist surgeon told me it's nothing to worry about you can live the next 50 years without working about this.

1) I have already had an aneurysm rupture.

2) I have been diagnosed with Tachacardia (which is the leaking of an aneurysm.) The high heart rate

3) he did not have any professionalism about him.

4) He was more concerned about an ER visit I had before seeing him that was not related to my aneurysm at all!

Very unprofessional plus he lied on my after visit summary.

I would like to see this Doctor DISBARRED! Mayo is all about the money! They won't treat me cause of my insurance!

For an organization that says it is proud of the quality of its care, and which charges accordingly, they have absolutely the worst blood lab I've ever seen. As bad as it was 2 months ago, it is even worse now.

Whoever manages this debacle should be fired. Now.

We were told yesterday the wait would be an hour from the appointment time and to go to the next appointment on our list and come back. We were back in 30 minutes but only then did they put us in the queue. And hour and 15 minutes later we still hadn't been called.

We left.

At least 2 of the 3 or 4 phlebotomists were acting very inappropriately, like a night at the comedy club while at least 50 people were waiting. The check-in staff is not the least bit helpful but I suppose they can't be blamed much. They must be sick of it, too.

To make matters worse, the schedulers don't consider the ridiculous wait times so patients' choices are to sit there and miss other appointments or to keep those appointments and blow off the blood work. The problem with that though is that Mayo refuses to let patients have blood work done somewhere else.

To be clear...this is not a walk-in lab.

It is by appointment only and by 10 a.m. or earlier the back-up and wait times are horrible. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for this self-created mess.

The management should be kicked to the curb and, until this is fixed, scheduling should be adjusted accordingly. I can't believe whoever leads the scheduling group hasn't done so already.

That's probably another manager who should be sent packing.

Last but not least, if you don't have a big nest egg, go someplace else.

Unlike most other clinics, they do not accept Insurance providers' standard payments. Another visit or two and we will have to start paying our balance by credit card and then paying outrageous interest on that balance.

My husband and I traveled 10 hours to come to the mayo clinic for his heart condition that has gotten worse and needs more attention than our local doctors can help with. We got up here and went to the appointment for them to tell us we can't be seen because they don't accept our insurance and it will cost $9,000 out of pocket up front to be seen.

We used rent money to make this trip up here. I asked if there were any other options. Payment plans, anything and they told me no. I got no further than that.

I haven't been able to speak to any kind of supervisor or anything. They said they called us and emailed but I've thoroughly searched my email, his medical portal, both of our phones and we never got a single notification other than appointment confirmation texts. My husband is dying and they refuse to see him.

After we drove all this way on hopes and dreams. Our babies are at home sick and I'm missing work just to be turned away at the door over money.

I could not find a complaint venue at Minnesota Oncology. Since you are partners, perhaps you can forward it to the correct person.

I would like to share an encounter with Dr.

Schwerkoske, Woodbury location, that I found quite troubling and inexplicable. I have been a patient of his since 2003. He presided over my successful chemo process and has been my contact since the beginning of my cancer adventure. I have lost track of the number of times that I have reported for testing and then the follow-up with the conclusion being no trace of my original malady, Waldenstroms macroglobulinemia.

My most recent follow-up was on 9/8/21. Cancer-free was I again. Subsequently, I noticed that lymph nodes on the right side of my chest and neck were enlarging. I went to my primary, and he suggested that I see my oncologist.

Testing again on 3/18/22, again no cancer. But the doctor ordered a biopsy, and the result was low-grade B-cell lymphoma with plasmacytic differentiation. The problem, I could not get the results, so I did not know that I was a cancer patient again.

I called Schwerkoskes nurse for the results but only was told that he had left a short note saying that the results were consistent with the disease. The nurse said that he did not want to schedule an appointment.

Imagine my confusion and displeasure. I said I wanted an appointment and scheduled one. Meanwhile, after several tries, I was able to see my biopsy results by driving out to Woodbury. (Allina would not give them to me in person, they said I needed to write a letter.

I asked Woodbury MOHPA to just tell me the results and, of course, they wouldn't provide them.) But at that point, I knew the results, and I was appalled. Schwerkoske, aware that new cancer had appeared, did not want to discuss it, did not want to make an appointment to decide how to go forward, nothing like that, he just wanted me to go away. While I am told that that was not malpractice, I think it was at least criminal doctoring. And again, note that this incident was after an amicable (I thought) nearly twenty-year doctor-patient relationship.

He seemed rational when I interacted with him on 3/18/22, but I wonder if he has issues of some sort.

And I wonder if other patients have had similar interactions with him? Finally, I would ask, does this encounter reflect the standard or practice at Minnesota Oncology in 2022?

This fee is a fee not a deposit or an amount that goes towards your deductible or medical expenses...

for my ex husband who has been battling with 2 CSF leaks in his spine/brain since having a cyst removed in July of 2018, and living on disability only for last 3 years....it is impossible to pay.

He manages to pay his living expenses and his medical insurance with very little monies left over. He has been to many doctors in Houston and had many blood patches (which is what they commonly do to help CSF leaks) but to no help...he doesn't sleep well, he has a hard time keeping food down (as a result has lost a great amount of weight) he is dizzy, and suffers from horrible headaches daily....not too mention horrible seizures off and on...We heard there is a doctor by the name of Dr. Marsh that has cured a friend of a friends CFS leak and has cured many others...however when we checked into process it is apparent to us that this is only a cure for the wealthier patients...and not to the ones that are on disability and have no means of coming up with this $5000 nor traveling expenses or deductiblles that are inevitable with going to the Mayo clinic in Minnesota.