Disgusting mail from Mayo

[rachmoninov3]

My husband just received a blantant advertisement from the Mayo clinic in Scottsdale, AZ. I thought it might be an opertunity for a clinical trial of diabetes medications, based upon his health history and Pima heritage...no, silly me, it talks of all their specialties, and encourages him to make an appointment to discuss his 'healthcare possibilities'.

This totally disgusts me, and certainly down grades the mayo as a medical school in my eyes. They only care about money, and while every other Hospital is filled to the brim with indigent patients who can't afford the care necessary to stay alive, the f*cking mayo clinic is trying to attract rich patients and give them perfect health!

To each their own, but I know that I certainly wouldn't want to be trained as a physician by Mayo after this letter!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[willow18]

Disgusting? Perfect health? Take it easy. It's a trial for diabetes. Last time I checked, minorities were more prone to diabetes.

And oh, guess what, I guarantee you every medical school in this country carries out these 'disgusting' clinical trials.

 

[strawberryfield]

Disgusting? Perfect health? Take it easy. It's a trial for diabetes. Last time I checked, minorities were more prone to diabetes.

No, re-read what the op said, IT WASN'T about diabetes. She would have been cool if it was.

Interesting. I live in Scottsdale and have not gotten such a solicitation from them, but it's well known here, if you've got the money, that's where you go, partly because it's in Scottsdale, and that's the attitude in Scottsdale. However, working for IM physicians in the Phx area, I have to give them major props, they take a lot of cases when there's no specialist left to see and no one else can figure out what's going on with patients...

 

[rachmoninov3]

that's just it, it's not a trial for diabetes (which he has). I was thinking that what it would be, considering that his tribe and translational genomics are both in the scottsdale/phoenix area.
Instead it was an advertisement for a check-up and a chance at 'perfect health'...that's what disgusts me.

 

[willow18]

Ooops, my bad. Well, remember that you need someone to finance all the free care handed out to the ER walk-ins, illegal immigrants, etc.

 

[MollyMalone]

Good luck trying to find a clinic that doesn't advertise.

Like it or not, it's an integral part of health care in the 21st century.

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

that's just it, it's not a trial for diabetes (which he has). I was thinking that what it would be, considering that his tribe and translational genomics are both in the scottsdale/phoenix area.
Instead it was an advertisement for a check-up and a chance at 'perfect health'...that's what disgusts me.

Errr, I don't really see the problem here.

They're advertising for people to come to the hospital to get checked up on. They're saying, "This is what we offer, why don't you consider taking care of yourself?"

We're always talking about how to solve the problem of patients who don't see their doctors and end up developing problems that could have been prevented had they been discovered and remedied earlier. This is a way to work on that problem -- bring it to people's attention more often.

I think all hospitals should send out these types of notices.

On a side note, Mayo and Harvard put out small magazines about recent developments in health research and wellness. I know because my mom subscribes to them. Anybody else get these?

It's just a matter of time before you get trial issues of these magazines from all the top-tier research hospitals. Good or bad? That's up to you.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

To each their own, but I know that I certainly wouldn't want to be trained as a physician by Mayo after this letter!

Fine, I'll gladly take your spot. I'll sell my entire family for use as guinea pigs in any manner of medical research if it secured me a spot at Mayo.

 

[SpinEcho13]

Fine, I'll gladly take your spot. I'll sell my entire family for use as guinea pigs in any manner of medical research if it secured me a spot at Mayo.

Judging from your previous posts about how healthcare should be a business that pads the pockets of physicians, your sense of entitlement without yet even gaining admittance to med school, and how you would never in your life consider primary care, you are exactly the type of applicant Mayo does NOT want. Take a look at their mission statement and the Mayo model of care sometime, you might be surprised at the type of selfless, humble, and atypical physicians the Mayo system strives to train.


To the OP, however, I fail to see how advertising in order to get people in for checkups (that they would likely avoid otherwise) is a sin. How do you know whether or not the Mayo waiting rooms are full? If they aren't it's certainly not because they are exclusive, or turning people away. As far as I know, it is still Mayo's core policy to provide the best care possible regardless of the patients financial status. Again, check the mission statement.

 

[roca88]

.

 

[DoctorPardi]

Good luck trying to find a clinic that doesn't advertise.

Like it or not, it's an integral part of health care in the 21st century.

Get 'em Molly!

(Often I add nothing meaningful to threads, I apologize.)

 

[snobored18]

Ummm...how about you go read "Doctors Mayo" by Helen Clapsattle and get back to me about your baseless attacks on Mayo in a few days, I'm betting you'll change your tune.

 

[breck]

Good luck trying to find a clinic that doesn't advertise.

Like it or not, it's an integral part of health care in the 21st century.

Looks like another subject that belongs in topics in healthcare.

 

[doclm]

Judging from your previous posts about how healthcare should be a business posting a profit, your sense of entitlement without yet even gaining admittance to med school, and how you would never in your life consider primary care, you are exactly the type of applicant Mayo does NOT want. Take a look at their mission statement and the Mayo model of care sometime, you might be surprised at the type of selfless, humble, and atypical physicians the Mayo system strives to train.

To the OP, however, I fail to see how advertising in order to get people in for checkups (that they would likely avoid otherwise) is a sin. How do you know whether or not the Mayo waiting rooms are full? If they aren't it's certainly not because they are exclusive, or turning people away. As far as I know, it is still Mayo's core policy to provide the best care possible regardless of the patients financial status. Again, check the mission statement.

You are absolutely correct about the Mayo model, they seek certain individuals that will put the patient first. Rather than treating their patients as guinea pigs, they strive to make that person feel very important in their decisions about their medical care. They hire and train people they feel will fulfill the Mayo mission. I know as a Medical Technologist, I had to go through the same personality test that other allied health staff goes through. However, in the end the patient feels that this experience at Mayo was somewhat different than their last visits at the hometown local hospital. Often I will ask a patient how their experience has been at Mayo, and to date 100% of them responded very positive about the staff and doctors. As a physician in the Mayo system you will only survive if you can be selfless, humble, and bring compassion to the patient.


Patients financial status means little to the Mayo Foundation. I have met with patients that have drove all the way from Kansas, and Missouri to be admitted to St. Mary's Hospital ER, because their local hospitals couldn't take them in.

To the OP, why Mayo can claim to help people so much is due to the highest standards they place on their staff and medical research. Often Mayo will think outside the norm of what can be done to do their own research. They also have the best technology to get the most accurate results. I have seen before that hospital X's won't do something because they used some old journal of research claims it cannot be done. While on the other hand Mayo will do it because they did their own research and found the error to be negligible. This foundation of research + highest technology + outstanding patient care= put the Mayo Clinic on the map. Finally, the Mayo Foundation is not completely based on pocketing all this money. A lot of the finances go to pay all the workers around 5% more than the local norm, pay for very high technology, and to keep building on new areas. However, they have the savings to rebuild everything from nothing if all the buildings and facilities were wiped off the map.

I am not saying that their healthcare is the best. No form of medical care is perfect.

 

[Law2Doc]

Good luck trying to find a clinic that doesn't advertise.

Like it or not, it's an integral part of health care in the 21st century.

Agree with this. Patients have choices in non-emergency healthcare, and so facilities have to do what they can to entice patients. Sending things in the mail is actually classy. They could be doing cheesy cable TV commercials.

 

[Llenroc]

If they don't advertise, how the hell are they supposed to get business?

All doctors advertise their practices. All hospitals and clinics advertise.

 

[velo]

Since I clearly don't share the OP's disgust, I'm trying my best to at least understand why one would be disgusted...drawing a blank.

I guess its the disgust that idealistic young souls all feel when reminded that medicine is, amoung many other things, a business.

 

[jbrice1639]

Since I clearly don't share the OP's disgust, I'm trying my best to at least understand why one would be disgusted...drawing a blank.

I guess its the disgust that idealistic young souls all feel when reminded that medicine is, amoung many other things, a business.

ding ding ding ding ding ding ding...we have a winner! fabulous prizes await you!

 

[akaz]

We are advertising. We are started a rheumatology clinic for American Indians with rheumatic disease. Some tribes run the highest rates of some of these in the world. We need to get the message out.

 

[Kikaku21]

My husband just received a blantant advertisement from the Mayo clinic in Scottsdale, AZ. I thought it might be an opertunity for a clinical trial of diabetes medications, based upon his health history and Pima heritage...no, silly me, it talks of all their specialties, and encourages him to make an appointment to discuss his 'healthcare possibilities'.

This totally disgusts me, and certainly down grades the mayo as a medical school in my eyes. They only care about money, and while every other Hospital is filled to the brim with indigent patients who can't afford the care necessary to stay alive, the f*cking mayo clinic is trying to attract rich patients and give them perfect health!

To each their own, but I know that I certainly wouldn't want to be trained as a physician by Mayo after this letter!

Rachmaninov is spelled with an "a".

 

[Zuerst]

Hey man, if you ground up the mail and boil it in a pot then eat it, it'll provide lots of fiber... Might also result in a very viscous form of diarrhea though. Or if it gathers into a bolus it might plug your excretory track... ooo... ouch...

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Judging from your previous posts about how healthcare should be a business that pads the pockets of physicians, your sense of entitlement without yet even gaining admittance to med school, and how you would never in your life consider primary care, you are exactly the type of applicant Mayo does NOT want. Take a look at their mission statement and the Mayo model of care sometime, you might be surprised at the type of selfless, humble, and atypical physicians the Mayo system strives to train.

While I was away, my colleagues responded quite effectively.

I guess its the disgust that idealistic young souls all feel when reminded that medicine is, amoung many other things, a business.

don't place too much emphasis on "mission statements",

Personally...I AM going into primary care- EM is basically primary care, just with a better lifestyle. You see the same "underserved" populations that medical schools preach they are so focus on sending graduates out to serve. I don't believe the purpose of medicine is to line anyone's pockets- I just believe being well reimbursed for my work is a benefit to my chosen career. As for entitlement.....not sure where you're coming from.....I'm not entitled to anything any more than anyone else......

Patients financial status means little to the Mayo Foundation.


As a physician in the Mayo system you will only survive if you can be selfless, humble, and bring compassion to the patient.

That's good, because I don't care about the patient's financial status either. That's the beauty of EM- you get to take care of people who can't afford care otherwise and yet you still don't starve yourself. My paycheck will come from the hospital, not from the patients directly. I make my salary regardless of whether the patients pay up or not.

Selflessness, humility, and compassion are not contradictory to viewing medicine as a business. The only thing that is contrary to viewing medicine as a business is wideeyed idealism when it is not accompanied by a grasp on reality. Even non-profits still have to remain financially sound while providing care.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

They only care about money

Tell me what sector in healthcare that this doesnt apply to...

 

[LADoc00]

My husband just received a blantant advertisement from the Mayo clinic in Scottsdale, AZ. I thought it might be an opertunity for a clinical trial of diabetes medications, based upon his health history and Pima heritage...no, silly me, it talks of all their specialties, and encourages him to make an appointment to discuss his 'healthcare possibilities'.

This totally disgusts me, and certainly down grades the mayo as a medical school in my eyes. They only care about money, and while every other Hospital is filled to the brim with indigent patients who can't afford the care necessary to stay alive, the f*cking mayo clinic is trying to attract rich patients and give them perfect health!

To each their own, but I know that I certainly wouldn't want to be trained as a physician by Mayo after this letter!

Classic. God forbid anyone in medicine tries to market their expertise, reach out to consumers, help people and in the process ***HOLY CRAP*** actually try to make a buck off it!

No, we should all be poor little docs, running around with lil medical bags in tattered scrubs, saying 'Yessum Masta" everytime some blithering idiot sees a TV ad for Viagra or Lunestra.

Wow, this country has gone totally over the deep end.

 

[rachmoninov3]

Also let me state that I used to live in phoenix, and the major medical centers, Marcopa county, Good Sam and St. Joes do not advertise in this manner. St. Joe's advertises for specific diseases: mainly neuro. Good sam advertises for bariatric surgery, and county is too damn busy.
Perhaps I've over-reacted, and Mayo is just thinking 'outside the box' with their advertising as well.

Sorry to still be a bit idealistic.

ps.

rachmoninov is a family name, rachmaninov is the composer and I do enjoy his music.

 

[Compass]

Well, if people didn't get normal checkups, they'd be helping people

 

[newbie1kenobi]

Also let me state that I used to live in phoenix, and the major medical centers, Marcopa county, Good Sam and St. Joes do not advertise in this manner. St. Joe's advertises for specific diseases: mainly neuro. Good sam advertises for bariatric surgery, and county is too damn busy.
Perhaps I've over-reacted, and Mayo is just thinking 'outside the box' with their advertising as well.

Sorry to still be a bit idealistic.

ps.

rachmoninov is a family name, rachmaninov is the composer and I do enjoy his music.

I see nothing wrong with letting the public know what services are available to improve or maintain their health. It's not like they're saying that they have a better program or that the competitor's services are inferior to theirs. It's more about educating the public. (I'm biased as this is what I do).

 

[LADoc00]

Also let me state that I used to live in phoenix, and the major medical centers, Marcopa county, Good Sam and St. Joes do not advertise in this manner. St. Joe's advertises for specific diseases: mainly neuro. Good sam advertises for bariatric surgery, and county is too damn busy.
Perhaps I've over-reacted, and Mayo is just thinking 'outside the box' with their advertising as well.

Sorry to still be a bit idealistic.

ps.

rachmoninov is a family name, rachmaninov is the composer and I do enjoy his music.

Your response shines a bright light into the sick American psyche that has brought the healthcare system to its knees.
Thank you.

 

[astrife]

Also let me state that I used to live in phoenix, and the major medical centers, Marcopa county, Good Sam and St. Joes do not advertise in this manner. St. Joe's advertises for specific diseases: mainly neuro. Good sam advertises for bariatric surgery, and county is too damn busy.
Perhaps I've over-reacted, and Mayo is just thinking 'outside the box' with their advertising as well.

Sorry to still be a bit idealistic.

ps.

rachmoninov is a family name, rachmaninov is the composer and I do enjoy his music.

I, too, disagree with your "disgust". The Mayo Clinic in all its wonders is not free to maintain. They must attract customers who will pay for the premium services they provide. You may not like the fact that they have to make money, but the fact remains that they do. I'm sorry, but the idealistic nature of your "disgust" is really an indicator of your naivety to the way the world works.

 

[Llenroc]

Where do these clowns think the money comes from to treat their charity cases? The poor, the downtrodden, the illegal immigrants, the welfare queens, that we're all supposed to be anxious to serve?

As my friend who still buys CD's puts it, "Someone's gotta support the recording industry."

Likewise, someone's gotta pay their own medical bills. And maybe it isn't a bad idea for clinics and hospitals to find these people.

 

[akaz]

I will say this. I don't beleive that Mayo is unrealistic for advertising and hosptials need to make money. What I do find disheartening is many of the posters tones toward those will less advantage. I have often been appaulled by the treatment that many physicians have toward those with less advantage--I have seen it with the Indian Health Service. I believe that physicians with all their training deserve those salaries and hospitals need to think about how to pay the bills.
However, there is never a need to show a lack of understanding and compassion to their plight. As someone who grew up for part of their life on a reservation or a ghetto, the climb up and out is rough. Most do not make it because the obstacles are so hard to climb out. My husband on the other hand grew up in extreme privilege. More privilege than a two doctor family etc. The worlds are completely different. It is hard to climb out when no one supports you, when substance abuse problems are rampant, lack of jobs, lack of opportunity. The Bureau of Indian affairs solution to our plight when they finally began letting us off the reservations, was to relocate us to urban ghettos without our families, no job skills, and sometimes without speaking english. We are finally beginning to climb up and build our communites. However, we were just given the opportunity in the 1980s. This is going to be a long climb. I would expect that physicians should show compassion to the fact that we have had no access to health care (the IHS is a joke) and that life is hard and unfair. Anyone that tells you differently is a liar. However, for people to move forward, they need to be able to grieve and be frustrated with their poor situation for them to be able to pull themselves up and move on. Be compassionate toward their grief. Those of us that have climbed out had to deal with our grief and frustrations first.

Where do these clowns think the money comes from to treat their charity cases? The poor, the downtrodden, the illegal immigrants, the welfare queens, that we're all supposed to be anxious to serve?

As my friend who still buys CD's puts it, "Someone's gotta support the recording industry."

Likewise, someone's gotta pay their own medical bills. And maybe it isn't a bad idea for clinics and hospitals to find these people.

 

[CatsandCradles]

ps.

rachmoninov is a family name, rachmaninov is the composer and I do enjoy his music.

My sister plays his songs on the paino all the time!!!

 

[Hoo\/er]

Classic. God forbid anyone in medicine tries to market their expertise, reach out to consumers, help people and in the process ***HOLY CRAP*** actually try to make a buck off it!

No, we should all be poor little docs, running around with lil medical bags in tattered scrubs, saying 'Yessum Masta" everytime some blithering idiot sees a TV ad for Viagra or Lunestra.

Wow, this country has gone totally over the deep end.

Totally agree. It's all of the tree-hugging-save-the-world types that royally piss me off. Run your free clinic but STFU about those that want the coin.