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| - I'm sure the quality of care at the Mayo Clinic is great, except that I can't experience it because I can't get an appointment. I'm a new patient, and last September I called for my initial exam. It was scheduled about 10 weeks out. A month later, I had to move it as I was going to be working out of the country. No worries. Rescheduled 9 weeks further out. Later, in mid-January, their office called: the doctor would be out; nothing available in the scheduling window; they will call me. In February, I get a packet in the mail and the appointment has been pushed out another 10 weeks, to the end of April.
Today, a Friday, with still another month to go before my first appointment, and fully six months after my initial call to them, I have a pinched nerve or muscle spasm. Never had this before. It's not terrible, but maybe a 4-5 on the 10 point pain scale: low-grade, dull, throbbing, persistent - don't lift the right arm or it gets moderately worse. I call to see if I might get in so I don't have to live with the pain through the weekend. I just need to see a nurse practitioner, not the (heaven forbid) doctor, to make sure it is nothing more serious. Nope, sorry.
Quality of care also depends on availability. Failure.
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