Joey Wahler (Host): It's an exciting venture that's helping Memorial Health System better serve its doctors and, of course, its patients. So, we're discussing their membership with the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Our guests from Memorial Health System Ohio, Scott Cantley, their President and CEO, as well as Dr. Dan Breece, he's their Chief Medical Officer.

Host: This is Memorial Health Radio with Memorial Health System Ohio. Thanks for listening. I'm Joey Wahler. Hi there, gentlemen. Thanks so much for joining us.

Dr Dan Breece: Hello.

Scott Cantley: Good morning.

Host: Hi to you too. And so first, for you, Scott, for those unfamiliar, simply put, what is Mayo Clinic? What do they do exactly?

Scott Cantley: Well, the Mayo Clinic is familiar to all of us in healthcare because they are likely, by all measures, the number one brand globally in healthcare. And so, they are known for excellence, for their best in nation performances on many clinical service lines, and are a trusted partner for quaternary referrals from all over the world.

Host: So for you, Dr. Breece, we'll get into some details in a moment, but what is the aforementioned Mayo Clinic Care Network then?

Dr Dan Breece: Well, the Mayo Clinic Care Network is actually something that the Mayo Clinic started several years ago, which aligned their main system, the Mayo System, with other hospitals from around the nation that shared like values and things like quality, patient experience and research.

Host: And so, speaking of which, Scott, this network screens members beforehand. And so, being accepted is really a testament to Memorial Health System's fine record with patient care and so on, right?

Scott Cantley: Exactly, Joey. The Mayo Network is an exclusive network of hospitals who have voluntarily joined in pursuit of clinical excellence and raising the bar for the communities they serve, just as Mayo has done in its three primary markets in the United States. And so, the screening process is thorough. Because obviously to participate and carry the Mayo Partnership, you have to carry their brand and carry their expectations out into your market. And so, the vetting process is very thorough and we're pleased to have met that bar and I'm thrilled at our entry into the Mayo Network.

Host: Sure. So Dr. Breece, this membership enables your doctors to consult with Mayo Clinic's experts, also gives them use of Mayo Clinic's vast clinical research and educational resources. Just a wealth of information and resources at your disposal. So how do you go about accessing all of that?

Dr Dan Breece: Well, Mayo is such a well-run health system that they have absolutely made their tools very accessible for anyone in their member network. So for example, the collaboration will provide all of our medical staff with access to all of these tools and services by enabling them to share their medical knowledge and collaborate in ways that truly benefit the patient. So, a lot of those will be available to all of our providers via our electronic devices, our internet and our IT services. It'll be just a click away. And being part of the network gives you priority to be able to access all of that at any time.

Host: So Scott, this membership with Mayo Clinic is not actually an affiliation or merger with them. So, Memorial Health System maintains its independence at the same time, right?

Scott Cantley: That's exactly right. It's kind of a best of both worlds strategy. We retain our independence and directional autonomy as a local community health system. But we combine that with the ability to access this incredible expertise, this phenomenal resource of clinical knowledge at a very individual and patient-specific level. And so, it's a wonderful opportunity for the hospitals that can qualify for this partnership. We retain our independence, but we also have the strength of the number one global healthcare brand.

Host: And Scott, let me just follow up and ask you as well, how long has this partnership been going and why was the time right at this time to make that happen?

Scott Cantley: It's been a multi-year journey to prove our quality, our experiences, and our capabilities of carrying the Mayo Partnership here southeastern Ohio. So, that has been an extensive process that took a number of years for us. But I would tell you that it really started with a vision of accelerating our performance, leveraging the expertise of the Mayo Network and also inspiring a community. You know, I think that, in rural markets in particular, we're sometimes awed by some of the big academic brands in larger metro areas around us. And so, we needed to both accelerate our own performance and continue this commitment to the world-class healthcare right here in our rural community but then, at the same time, inspire people. And that's what this allows us to do, accelerate our own quality journey and really keep that commitment and inspiring our community that they have the very best healthcare the world has to offer right at their fingertips here in our town.

Host: Gotcha. So Dr. Breece, naturally, patients listening or wondering how this membership most benefits them, what would you say to that?

Dr Dan Breece: Well, I think that for patients that access our system and get their quality of care here in our health system, I would say that all of these tools enhance the ability for the provider to practice medicine and then enhance the care that they deliver to the patient. So, the patient is already getting an exceptional patient experience and getting high quality care. But this access to the number one global brand in all of healthcare allows the providers to have access to the most up-to-date research, the most up-to-date clinical care pathways and treatment plans. And it also gives them the ability to consult with Mayo physicians and providers to discuss a patient's case that could be very complex. And most of the time, what we find when that happens is that it gives the patient peace of mind that, for example, a second opinion would allow them to know with certainty that their care that is being provided here at Memorial is on point with what they would even get at the Mayo Clinic. So, it really just expands the expertise that our providers have in delivering that high quality care to our patients.

Host: So Scott, regarding information-sharing, to pick up on that for a moment, it seems this membership is really yet another example of how the world is shrinking, so to speak, enabling you all to tap into expertise really from anywhere around the world, right?

Scott Cantley: Absolutely. The buzzword for decades in healthcare globally has been evidence-based care that we are ensuring ourselves and our patients that the care we deliver is the gold standard, the very best care of all the options that are available. And so, we use the term evidence-based medicine. And one of the most attractive parts of this digital world we live in today is the ability to exchange information very quickly in very complex circumstances that are uniquely specific to an individual patient, and share what that global standard should be. And that's how we use the Mayo Network, is to ensure that our clinicians have access to the very best knowledge the world has to offer and ensure that knowledge is brought to bear in every single circumstance with our patients.

Host: Couple of other things. Dr. Breece, what might be a specific example or two you can share with us, please, about how this membership has already reaped benefits for your staff and again, of course, for your patients?

Dr Dan Breece: Well, already along our journey, we have been able to access certain programs that the Mayo Clinic Network offers its individual members. So, we have access to patient education resources. We also have access to provider education resources, both in the form of CME, as well as research tools. We also have the ability to tap into the Mayo Clinic Network's entire vast library of clinical care pathways and the most up-to-date research. Those things are at our fingertips today. They allow us to enhance the care that we provide to our patients now. In the future, we will have the ability to access secondary consults. So for those complex patients that we may just want additional insight from a specialist that we don't have here or we just want a second opinion, we'll be able to access the Mayo Clinic providers within days to get a second opinion. We will also be able to access what they call e-tumor boards. Those are things, for example, oncology patients, traditionally, when you have the diagnosis of cancer in a patient, their case is presented at something called a tumor board. We can add that patient right here from the mid-Ohio Valley to the Mayo Clinic's Tumor Board, if we chose to do so, to get their opinion on how to deliver the best care. And again, most of the time from what we hear throughout other members in the Mayo Clinic network, that over 95% or 98% of the time, really, the Mayo Clinic providers already agree with the care plan that we're already delivering here.

Host: Final question for you, Scott. What's been the buzz around your facility? I would imagine people are excited to say the least about this combined effort, yes?

Scott Cantley: Oh, my goodness. The enthusiasm amongst both our team members, our nurses, our clinical team and our physicians to have this resource available to assure ourselves that we are performing at the same standard and delivering the same care that would be received by our patients at the Mayo Clinic has just generated a whole new level of enthusiasm throughout our organization and we hope to share and inspire the community with that same level of enthusiasm. We're thrilled to be a part of this, and we're just looking forward to all the wonderful things that we can do as we accelerate on this journey to top in world performance.

Host: And finally, for you, Dr. Breece, in summary here, if you would please, what's been the reaction of your medical staff? What are they saying to you about being involved in this partnership right in the trenches there, as they say?

Dr Dan Breece: Wow, it is really overwhelming. All of the providers have been very, very excited about the opportunities that this partnership with the Mayo Network really brings to them. They recognize that they already have access to many of the tools that many other rural systems in the United States don't have right here in our hometown. But access to the Mayo Network and all the tools that we've already talked about on this call and podcast really just enhance their ability to ensure they are delivering the highest quality care in the world to their patients that they have here in the mid-Ohio Valley and beyond.

Host: Well, very exciting stuff. Folks, we trust you are now more familiar with the benefits of Memorial Health Systems membership in the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Scott Cantley and Dr. Dan Breece, thanks so much again.

Scott Cantley: Thank you.

Dr Dan Breece: Thank you.

Host: And for more information or to connect with the Memorial Health System provider, please visit mhsystem.org. Again, that's mhsystem.org. Now, please remember to subscribe, rate and review this and all the other Memorial Health System podcasts as well. I'm Joey Wahler. Thanks again for listening to Memorial Health System Radio with Memorial Health System Ohio.