Excerpt from Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast by Nicholas LaRusso, M.D., Barbara Spurrier, MHA, Gianrico Farrugia, M.D.
The fundamental elements of today’s established Mayo Model of Care include 14 tenets, of which 7 are directed toward “Patient Care” and 7 concern “The Mayo Environment.” These tenets are not only useful in understanding today’s Mayo Clinic but also in understanding the nature of an environment that is conducive to the types of innovations we will discuss throughout the book.
Patient Care
- A team approach that relies on a variety of medical specialists working together to provide the highest-quality care
- An unhurried examination of each and every patient with time to listen to him or her
- The physicians taking personal responsibility for directing patient care in partnership with the patient’s local physician
- The highest-quality care delivered with compassion and trust
- Respect for the patient, family, and the patient’s local physician
- A comprehensive evaluation with timely, efficient assessment and treatment
- The availability of the most advanced, innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and techniques
The Mayo Environment
- Highest-quality staff, mentored in the culture of Mayo and valued for their contributions
- Valued professional allied health staff with a strong work ethic, special expertise, and devotion to Mayo
- A scholarly environment of research and education
- Physician leadership
- Integrated medical records with common support services for all outpatients and inpatients
- Professional compensation that allows a focus on quality, not quantity
- Unique professional dress, decorum, and facilities
Nicholas La Russo, M.D., a physician scientist and practicing liver specialist, is the founding medical director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, the Charles H. Weinman Endowed Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and a Distinguished Investigator of Mayo Clinic.
Barbara Spurrier, MHA, is the founding and current administrative director of the Center for Innovation at Mayo Clinic. She has advised senior leaders in the health care industry for over two decades, serving as a champion for innovation in large, complex environments.
Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., is the director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and the founding associate medical director for the Center for Innovation at Mayo Clinic. He is a practicing gastroenterologist and a professor of medicine and physiology in the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic.