Needing a second opinion when it comes to your health can be
frightening and unnerving. You want to know the care you’re receiving is
care you can trust. Recently, OSF HealthCare joined the Mayo Clinic
Care Network. To put it simply, if a patient has a complex case that
needs further attention, they can receive the input of a Mayo Clinic
physician right here in Bloomington-Normal.
What It Means for Patients
The primary goal of the Mayo Clinic Care Network is to help people
gain the benefits of Mayo Clinic’s knowledge and expertise close to
home, ensuring that patients need to travel for care only when
necessary. This relationship extends Mayo Clinic’s experience to
physicians and providers interested in working together in the best
interest of their patients. OSF physicians are able to connect directly
with Mayo Clinic specialists on questions of patient care using an
electronic consulting technique called eConsults. OSF physicians also
will have access to the latest Mayo-vetted medical information through
AskMayoExpert, an online database developed and used by Mayo Clinic
physicians. It provides OSF physicians and care teams resources that
cover disease management, care guidelines, and treatment recommendations
for a wide variety of medical conditions. These tools also offer OSF
physicians vast research documentation, proven protocols, and medical
data libraries. In addition to health care consulting, they will help
OSF continue to provide the best possible care for its patients, as well
as improve the health of the community.
“Our ultimate goal — and one
of the most exciting things about this collaboration with Mayo — is by
working together, we will enhance locally provided care in the
Bloomington and Pontiac areas,” said Paul Pedersen, MD, Chief Medical
Officer, OSF St. Joseph Medical Center.
How It Works
Patients will still continue to see their OSF provider. If
physicians decide a Mayo specialist could help diagnose a complex
clinical situation, they can collaborate electronically with Mayo
specialists on the patients’ behalf. OSF physicians will continue to
direct the care of the patient. As part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network,
collaborating experts will do everything possible to diagnose and treat
complex medical diagnoses locally. It is important to both OSF and Mayo
Clinic to work together to help patients get better while staying close
to home, whenever possible.
If a patient and their care team
determine a visit to Mayo Clinic is necessary, OSF HealthCare’s close
network relationship can help ensure the patient’s care is coordinated
before, during, and after their visit. Even if patients have previously
visited Mayo, OSF can help coordinate ongoing treatments close to home.
Patient privacy is always a priority. OSF and Mayo have safeguards in
place to protect patients’ health information. Anything shared with Mayo
Clinic related to patient care is sent through a secure connection and
remains confidential. Bottom line, OSF HealthCare’s membership in the
Mayo Clinic Care Network gives patients the security of knowing that
some of the best medical minds in the nation are working together for
them, so patients continue to receive the best possible care, right here
in Bloomington-Normal.
OSF bears the cost of this collaboration
with Mayo Clinic; there is no additional cost to the patient. If a
patient’s case is complex, and the doctor feels a referral would be
beneficial, the patient would be advised of all costs for that next
stage of care before it would begin. There is also no obligation for
referrals to Mayo Clinic from any OSF provider.
According to
Kathleen Forbes, MD, Chief Clinical Officer for OSF Healthcare System,
“The collaborative relationship between OSF HealthCare and Mayo Clinic
is designed to be a long-lasting one. By working together over time, OSF
and Mayo Clinic hope to build new and innovative ways to provide the
best possible care to patients and their families.”
Why did OSF decide to join the Mayo Clinic Care Network?
OSF provides care to more than 3.7 million people in the communities
it serves throughout Illinois and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and
now, those patients can benefit from Mayo expertise. OSF HealthCare was
the first medical system in downstate Illinois selected to join the Mayo
Clinic Care Network, because OSF shares a common philosophy,
commitment, and mission to improve health care delivery through
high-quality, data-driven, evidence-based medical care and treatment.
“We are gratified Mayo Clinic has recognized our philosophy,
commitment, and mission to improve health care delivery through the use
of best practices and evidence-based medicine,” said Ken Natzke, OSF
Healthcare System, Eastern Illinois Region CEO. “This relationship will
bring a new level of health care knowledge and expertise to our
patients, our physicians, and our community.”
OSF HealthCare
consists of eight medical centers and two colleges of nursing. OSF
Medical Group is a comprehensive, integrated network of health care
facilities, services, physicians, and employees in Illinois and
Michigan. OSF Medical Group includes a multispecialty group of more than
600 member physicians and nearly 300 advanced practitioners in more
than 90 locations throughout Illinois. Additionally, OSF HealthCare owns
an extensive network of home health and hospice services known as OSF
Home Care Services and OSF Saint Francis, Inc. comprised of health
care-related businesses.
More about the Mayo Clinic Care Network
“We are delighted to welcome the OSF team to the Mayo Clinic Care
Network. Mayo Clinic and OSF share a patient-centered culture that
thrives on improving outcomes and increasing value. The Mayo Clinic Care
Network helps achieve those results,” said David Hayes, MD, Medical
Director, Mayo Clinic Care Network. “We look forward to continuing our
long-standing relationship with this excellent organization and its
dedicated staff, working together during the coming years to improve
patient care and develop new delivery models.”
With Mayo Clinic,
members of the network share a commitment to improve the quality and
delivery of health care. Mayo Clinic Care Network helps Mayo Clinic to
develop stronger relationships with like-minded organizations, so more
people in more places can benefit from the specialty knowledge and
expertise that are hallmarks of Mayo Clinic. Mayo has a long history of
collaborating with other medical providers to provide the best possible
care for patients. It’s a deeply valued part of their culture. The
network launched in 2011, and now has member organizations based in
Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the collaboration between OSF HealthCare and the Mayo Clinic Care Network, please visit www.osfhealthcare.org/mayo.