Mayo Clinic Consulting Edge

In 2017, a project team from Mayo Clinic's Integrity and Compliance Office began taking steps to stop the routine collection and storage of patient social security numbers (SSN) in the demographic field of the electronic health record (EHR). Mayo Clinic recognized the potential risk to patients if the number was compromised through unauthorized access or ransomware. The SSN was successfully removed from Mayo Clinic's EHR in April 2022. Join Allyssa Stevens, Health Systems Engineer, April Carlson, Senior Manager of Data Security and Architecture, and Leah Mudler, Manager in Integrity and Compliance, along with host Jodi Grimm as they share project details, steps taken, and lessons learned for other health care organizations interested in taking this important step to help protect their patients' information.

Here at Mayo Clinic, outpatient labs are consistently engaged with patients throughout the week, particularly early in the week and during morning hours. While this congestion was a concern prior to COVID-19, it became a more pressing issue due to the new urgency to create social distancing for patients. Management Engineering and Consulting was asked to lead a project team to develop recommendations to reduce the number of patients in the lab lobbies at peak hours to increase social distancing. Adam Resnick, Health System Engineer Fellow, and host Tony Chihak discuss the challenging process of developing an accurate simulation model to provide recommendations for implementation. 

In early spring 2020, COVID-19 cases were rapidly increasing across the US which resulted in shortages of beds, staff and equipment. Personal protective equipment, or PPE, are required for both staff and patient safety and if these were unavailable, there would be critical limitations to the level of care Mayo Clinic needs to provide for patients in need not only from COVID but other diseases as well. While Mayo Clinic wasn't expecting immediate shortages, a project was initiated to proactively implement mitigation plans in case of an actual surge. Management Engineering and Consulting was brought in to help identify an optimal plan for reprocessing PPE as well as implementing to solution in preparation for potential shortages. In today's episode, Senior Health System Engineer Tae Huh and host Tony Chihak discuss how ME&C was able to move with agility and creativity while being under a tight deadline to provide a sustainable solution for reprocessing PPE.

Many internal and external stakeholders are involved in the admission or transfer of a patient needing a higher level of care. The processes are numerous, complex and interdependent.  Executed efficiently, a refined process can positively impact patient and staff satisfaction, overall cycle time, and safety.  This episode of Mayo Clinic Consulting Edge, Mike Fabel, Principle Health Systems Engineer and host Tony Chihak explore how tactically applied systems engineering tactics optimized a complex process with multiple stakeholders.

Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) and Mayo Clinic announced a joint venture to operate Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), one of the United Arab Emirates' largest hospitals for patients with serious or complex medical conditions. Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City creates a pathway for further innovation and development of life sciences in the Emirates. Join Hugo Pariseau, Health Systems Engineer, and Andrea Smith, Project Manager, along with host Jodi Grimm as they discuss ME&C's contributions to this unique joint endeavor.

After smaller rural clinics were closed due to COVID-19, this left a need to provide healthcare to these communities in a creative way. A 38ft customized commercial Winnebago RV was built to bridge the gap. This self-sustained unit provides patients with a direct access to Mayo Clinic and their providers without having to travel long distances. Equipped with two fully functional exam rooms, the Mayo Clinic Mobile Health Unit uses remote diagnostic tools to provide a variety of care. Management Engineering and Consulting was brought in to help reach an aggressive target launch date while leveraging existing technology and developing partnerships. In today's episode, Jon Eckdahl, Senior Health Systems Engineer, and Bhushan Pendse, Project Manager, with host Jodi Grimm discuss how their ability to move quickly while utilizing Agile methodology was instrumental in getting clinic in a Winnebago developed and available to rural communities.

Even though employee mental health was a large topic of discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayo Clinic identified this as a concern beforehand. The pandemic created new levels of stress and anxiety, with employee needs becoming more complex in this continuously changing environment. National data found that symptoms of anxiety disorders and depressive disorders have increased by approximately three to four times then what was reported in 2019. A multidisciplinary team was formed to collectively address the complex barriers to care and optimize support to employees and learners. This team reached out to Management Engineering and Consulting for assistance providing an objective third-party lens by assisting the current state of navigation to mental health recourses, mapping those barriers and coaching the team through those solutions. In today's episode we are joined by ME&C's Allyssa Stevens, Associate, members of the multidisciplinary team Kaisa Wieneke, Human Resources Director for Employee Well-Being and Recognition, Gretl Kruse, Senior Human Resources Analyst for Employee Well-Being and Recognition, and host Jodi Grimm as they dive into this important topic of employee mental health.

The Mayo Clinic Biospecimens Accessioning and Processing (BAP) Lab, which has facilities at all three Mayo Clinic sites, has been involved in various projects which were supported by Management Engineering and Consulting. The mission of the BAP lab is to provide world-class Biorepositories and state-of-the-art Biospecimen Processing and Storage with a focus on quality and service. The Mayo Clinic Biobank and the Center for Individualized Medicine's Biorepositories Program are important resources that enable genomic medicine studies. Investigators can study millions of samples that can lead to evidence-based discoveries. the BAP lab has completed a number of projects for greater efficiency, increased automation, greater uniformity, and increased standardization of procedures and processes, all leading to high-quality material for investigators. In today's episode, Senior Principal Health Systems Engineers Keri Kirby and Rachel Martin, Bailey Van Ommeren, Health Systems Engineer and host Tony Chihak discuss the long standing relationship between the Center for Individualized Medicine, which is the organizational home for BAP, and ME&C, and how their collaboration has helped to evolve BAP and it's capabilities.

Over the last ten years, the advent of electronic medical records has dramatically changed the nature of healthcare practitioners' work. As these health records are optimized and re-engineered, changes to provider schedules may be required. In today's podcast join Spencer Richards, Health Systems Engineer and host Jodi Grimm as they illustrate how non-visit care time (time spent by providers charting in the medical record) can be successfully optimized to reduce patient wait times.  

In today's special edition of Mayo Clinic Consulting Edge we will introduce a significant organizational change for Mayo Clinic. The departments of Management Engineering and Consulting (ME&C) and Planning Services are combining forces to help enable and accelerate the organization's strategic vision.  We are joined today by Janine Kamath and Steve McNeil for an extended podcast highlighting the background, benefits, and the need to execute on this important organizational change.

*This podcast was recorded before Management Engineering and Consulting and Planning Services integrated into the new Mayo Clinic Strategy Department   Medical experts consider expanded contact tracing a critical component of dealing with the Corona Virus. As we continue to battle Covid-19 worldwide, Mayo Clinic has been able to quickly develop advanced tools for contact tracing. In today's episode, Megan Rensing, Health Systems Engineer, and host Eva Fjerstad discuss a project resulting in an advanced contact tracing system in use at Mayo Clinic.

*This podcast was recorded before Management Engineering and Consulting and Planning Services integrated into the new Mayo Clinic Strategy Department.   As the COVID-19 Pandemic entered the U.S. and the nation's fears began to surge, Mayo Clinic nurses were asked by the Hospital Incident Command Center to stand up a nurse line specifically for COVID. The COVID Nurse Line went live on March 11th, 2020 with a unit of about 40 nurses but quickly expanded to about 100.The initial intent of the COVID Nurse Line was to screen callers across the Mayo Clinic enterprise, including the Midwest, Arizona and Florida to determine if the caller met the criteria to be tested for COVID-19. If they were to screen positive for testing, the staff on the COVID Nurse Line would then place the order request and provide patient education related to quarantine and exposure recommendations, symptom management and urgent symptom assessment with appropriate recommendations for care. It quickly morphed into a help line for anyone across the United States with questions regarding COVID-19 testing, care, travel, vaccinations, etc. Management Engineering and Consulting was requested in January 2021 to help evaluate the processes and workflows developed to help assist with increasing demand. Listen as Allyssa Stevens, Health Systems Engineer Associate, Jean Johnston, Nurse Manager, Tina Oian, Lead Charge Nurse for the COVID Nurse Line and host Tony Chihak as they discuss the trials and success of lifting a designated nurse line off the ground to provide excellent care and support to patients across the enterprise.

In part two of our Medical Improv series, Senior Principal Health System Engineers Gene Dankbar and Kathy Zavaleta, along with host Tony Chihak reflect on improving communication skills, even in remote work settings. They teamed up with some of their colleagues from the Strategy Department.  With a few simple exercises borrowed from improvisational theatre the fun illustrates key lessons about thinking on your feet.

The importance of listening and communication is key for health system engineers and project managers as they work closely with senior leaders, project proponents, project team members and subject matter experts. Rather remarkably, tools used commonly by improvisation actors can help all healthcare professionals sharpen and enhance their communication skills. Join two of Management Engineering and Consulting's Senior Principal Health System Engineers Kathy Zavaleta and Gene Dankbar, along with host, Tony Chihak, as they describe how they have applied improvisation methods, referred to as ‘medical improvisation' in a healthcare setting, in their day-to-day work to enhance project outcomes. 

Mayo Clinic has developed an advanced care at home program. This model of care provides comprehensive treatment and recovery service to patients in their own home, and will allow patients who are “sick, but stable” to have the option of recovering where they are most comfortable: At home. Aligned with Mayo Clinic's 2030 strategy, advanced care at home is expected to transform the delivery of care by revolutionizing the location and logistics of acute care delivery for patients with serious or complex illnesses for both Mayo and the health care system overall. In this episode, our speakers Prerna Dean and Joel Roberts, Senior Health Systems Engineers, Arnold Blauert, Senior Project Manager along with our host Jodi Grimm talk about how Mayo Clinic providers will leverage cutting edge technology platform and an ecosystem of support services to care for patients in a home environment.

Children with complex congenital or acquired conditions affecting breathing, swallowing, and growth often required multispecialist care that is costly and complex, characterized by multiple procedures, heavy reliance on technology and frequent hospitalizations. Today, these kids often start their care journey in the Aerodigestive Clinic but up till 2018 there was lack of a national consensus definition of an aerodigestive patient. Many healthcare institutions also lacked standardized structure or functions of an aerodigestive program prior to that point. This is a story of how a determined group of clinicians partnered with their health systems engineer 8 years ago to completely transform the practice model for evaluation of children with aerodigestive issues. Using systems engineering principles, the team created a patient-centered multispecialty practice that reduced turn-around-time for diagnostic evaluation from a median of 150 days to 6 days. 

Mathematical optimization is a set of methods for identifying the best solution to a problem given real-world constraints. Such methods have been applied to a wide range of industries and business problems including capacity management, facility location, portfolio allocation, product recommendations, logistics, and scheduling among many others. Paired with emerging technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, optimization has immense potential to transform operational decision making in healthcare at scale. Learn how mathematical optimization was used to address resource utilization and scheduling constraints in a multi-disciplinary clinical practice at Mayo Clinic in a post-COVID-19 environment. Our speakers include Senior Health Systems Engineers, Amrika Ramjewan, M.S. and Tarin Casadonte, M.S., as well as our host Tony Chihak.

To ensure the safety of patients and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayo Clinic rapidly developed methods for screening symptomatic patients entering the clinic and testing asymptomatic patients prior to their surgeries and procedures.  In today's episode, Senior Health Systems Engineer Steven Crowley describes how the new COVID-19 Advanced Screening Clinic was quickly created and operationalized to safely provide virtual care options for patients who fail entrance screening and to efficiently test asymptomatic patients for COVID-19.