Dive Brief:
- The Mayo Clinic has formally affilliated with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, providing the clinic a presence in Memphis.
- The arrangement makes Methodist the first healthcare organization in Tennessee to become a part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, and the 34th nationwide to join since 2011.
- David Hayes, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Network, says more than 700 organizations have requested to join. He tells the Memphis Business Journal that although Mayo aims to obtain a site in every state, it remains very selective about its members.
Dive Insight:
According to Hayes, the Mayo Clinic was specifically attracted to the Memphis metropolitan area and determined that Methodist Healthcare "fit the criteria for a good member."
Through the arrangement, the Mayo Clinic will be able to further share its expertise without requiring patients to travel to one of its own locations in Minnesota, Arizona or Florida.
For Methodist's part, it will have access to Mayo's tools and experts through eConsults, AskMayoExpert, and eTumor Board Conferences.
The relationship between the organizations is intended to grow over the long term, Hayes says, though it officially proceeds based on renewable one-year agreements.