Establishing the infrastructure necessary to convert data into actionable insights involves handling significant roadblocks, a journey Mayo Clinic undertook by laying down specific building blocks over time. The initial step occurred nearly 15 years ago with the adoption of an electronic health records system. This foundational technology was key for ensuring that patients received a consistent Mayo Clinic experience across all destination sites and every location within the Mayo Clinic Health System. Following this, the organization identified that maintaining data and infrastructure on-premises was insufficient for their future needs. Consequently, they made the strategic leap to the cloud well before the industry standard, recognizing this shift as a prerequisite for creating use cases that had not yet even been contemplated.
Beyond technical infrastructure, a major obstacle was aligning the organization around specific data principles. Mayo Clinic established that data is an enterprise capability and an asset stewarded on behalf of patients. This perspective is vital because data in many organizations remains trapped in silos, guarded by specific departments. By contrast, Mayo Clinic organized patient data to make it accessible for the benefit of the entire patient population. This progression involved pushing de-identified data into the cloud to enable broader utilization. The organization also refined its consent model to ensure maximal value extraction, defining value as data driving better patient care rather than remaining dormant. To accelerate innovation, they developed the “Data Behind Glass” model, inviting global innovators to work within a safety, privacy-protected construct. Under this model, every participant must abide by strict rules focused on delivering value to patients through novel solutions centered on quality improvement, earlier disease identification, or new cures. The ongoing objective is to transform this model into an industry-wide calling that encourages broader collaboration.
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Cultivating a data-driven culture at Mayo Clinic is deeply connected to its 160-year history and the founding principle of a “union of forces.” While patients in other healthcare systems are often bounced between specialists, Mayo Clinic’s approach brings all specialties in-house, allowing clinicians and departments to confer directly to determine the right diagnosis. This integration extends to the organization’s research and clinical practice, which operate without silos. Researchers actively advance care models by working alongside clinicians in each department, a dynamic considered one of the institution’s secrets to pushing the envelope on care. Additionally, the philosophy of the founding Mayo brothers—teaching others while integrating external knowledge into the core organization—aligns with modern platform models. In this view, a common asset is created that others can contribute to and draw from. Data and AI are viewed as means to an end, providing the scalability that allows this learning organization to move at a much faster pace while upholding its core values.
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