Checkup

Making Rounds

Understanding Medicare workshop scheduled

To help Mayo Clinic Medicare patients better understand billing changes that took effect last year, a free workshop has been scheduled for 3 p.m. Thurs., Sept. 16, in the Kinne Auditorium.

Workshop speakers will:

• Provide examples for calculating out-of-pocket expenses
• Offer step-by-step instructions for filing supplemental claims and provide samples of important documents
• Show a method for keeping track of your bills and reimbursements
• Address commonly asked questions

Space is limited. To reserve a seat, call (904) 953-0777.

Upcoming campus construction

If you are planning a trip to the Mayo Clinic campus soon, you might notice some new construction. Engineers are clearing the way for a 400-space parking lot along San Pablo Road near Davis Parkway. Parking Lot D will be for patients, but a small portion of the lot will be temporarily set aside for employees. "We will be thinning the area out, saving a large number of valuable trees, and after the lot is completed, we'll be replanting shrubs and other foliage along San Pablo Road," says Robert Fontaine, director of Campus Planning for Mayo Clinic. The project is part of the campus' master plan and is the first of many over the next several years as the new hospital takes shape.

Palliative medicine fellowship

To help physicians become more knowledgeable about end-of-life or chronic, non-curable disease care, Mayo Clinic is teaming up with Community Hospice of Northeast Florida to create a fellowship in palliative medicine. The 12-month program, which begins in September, will help doctors learn how to provide the best care for enhancing the comfort and quality of life for people dealing with terminal illness.

"The goal of palliative care is achieving the best quality of life for patients and their families," says program director Dr. Robert Shannon from Mayo Clinic's Department of Family Medicine. "Living well, even as one dies, is as important as any other goal." Palliative care embodies the emotional, psychological, spiritual and social care of the patient and the patient's family.

MayoClinic.com adds dietary supplements search tool

MayoClinic.com has introduced a new supplement information search tool on its award-winning Web site. Useful information on 86 herbs, vitamins and other supplements is now easily accessible. Search for a supplement by name or browse through the alphabetical index. New entries will be added periodically to provide information on 105 supplements by the end of 2004. Each entry offers helpful information about the supplement's background, alternative names, uses, proven effectiveness, dosage and safety.