The Mayo Clinic, University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: new part

The Mayo Clinic recently announced it is entering into a transatlantic partnership with the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to collaborate on improving healthcare and making scientific discoveries. As part of the new agreement, Mayo and Oxford will share a physical location in London expected to open in early 2019 as an independent business subsidiary.

“This transatlantic partnership will bring together leading researchers and clinicians from around the world,” Oxford University CEO Bruno Holthof, MD, said in a statement. “Together we will be able to attract more talent and funding in order to create better health outcomes for our patients.”

Mayo Clinic Vice President Gianrico Farrugia, MD, sees the culturally aligned organizations – Oxford University, Oxford University Hospitals and Mayo Clinic – "collaborating to drive better results for patients in all areas of medicine.”

“Mayo Clinic and Oxford University medicine are truly global brands in health care,” says Sir John Bell, GBE, Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford. “This unique collaboration will allow these world-class institutions to work together in research, teaching and clinical care to make advances in medicine. It will also reinforce the role of the UK as a major health care centre. I very much look forward to working with our distinguished colleagues from the Mayo Clinic to deliver innovation to patients.”

Overview of the partnership

The 5 potential areas for collaboration are -

1) Research projects

2) Educational interactions and endeavours

3) Practice pilots to focus on leading improvements in quality

4) Integration and outcomes delivered

5) The exchange of resources to support research, practice and educational activities

So are we seeing the beginning of a new partnership strategy emerging in healthcare?

Yes, I believe we are witnessing the start of a new phase of strategic partnerships in healthcare which will potentially deliver the "triple aim" and for the first time create IP which can be used to start a new cycle of innovation. I will explain why ..

A) "Each organization brings a depth of expertise and achievement" - classic partner model of building on each others strengths, together we are stronger strategy

Oxford and the Mayo Clinic are two highly respected and well known brands on either sides of the Atlantic in healthcare. This is like Apple partnering with Nike, two brands trusted by millions joining forces. Trust is an important factor in healthcare and when you add two brands together, you inevitably create a multiplier effect.

B) "Financial surpluses generated from these activities will be used to help advance clinical education and patient care, and to fund vital medical research" - sharing success unlocks funds for new research and so the cycle begins

Advancing clinical education and funding vital medical research is the first step in delivering better patient care and more positive outcomes. Breakthroughs in technology, new clinical pathways, pre operative assessments, recovery times, theatre and surgical advancements creates IP. Intellectual property which can be shared within the ecosystem for the benefit of all. IP can also be monetised in the form of patents, contracts with other healthcare organisations and providers.

C) "Oxford University’s Medical Sciences Division comprises 5,500 academics, researchers, NHS physicians and administrative staff along with over 3,000 graduate and undergraduate students, who sustain an extensive and exemplary portfolio of research, teaching and clinical care" - sharing knowledge at scale and comparing outcomes in two different healthcare systems will only increase the quality of research and care

5,500 academics, researchers, NHS physicians and administrative staff

3,000+ graduate and undergraduate students

Plus the Mayo Clinics' infrastructure of staff and students is a lot of people, 14,000 maybe?

Sharing knowledge between two highly regarded providers of care and academic institutions will inevitably create competition and transparency in a positive way. Peer reviews, group discussions, pilots, A/B tests, multivariate tests will no doubt raise the bar even higher and produce breakthroughs at the speed and scale not seen before.

Conclusion

This new model of strategic partnership combining depth of expertise and achievement, advancing clinical education and patient care, funding vital medical research, sustaining exemplary portfolios of research, teaching and clinical care effectively delivers the "triple aim" of healthcare and for the first time creates assets in the form of intellectual property. These assets can then be used again to fund new projects and research, potentially unlocking a positive cycle of innovation ..... self funding and self sustaining innovation.

Improve the patient experience - most likely to come from pilots testing hardware or medical devices, lower waiting times due to better capacity management

Achieve better health through improved outcomes - most likely to come from of new clinical pathways, pre operative assessments, recovery times, theatre and surgical advancements

Manage or reduce costs - most likely in the form of less staff needed per task or procedure, new and cheaper drugs, medical devices or equipment

Create intellectual property - most likely in the form of software, hardware or medical devices.