Mayo Clinic Implements Data-driven Model for Sustaining Service Performance

Friday, December 09, 2011

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Details of a "seven-prong" model for improving service quality and creating value, developed by Mayo Clinic in Arizona, were published in the November/December issue of Journal of Healthcare Management. Results of the pilot study suggest that the model has utility in improving patient experience scores, which can influence reimbursement under value-based purchasing.

The seven prongs in Mayo Clinic's model are (1) multiple data sources to drive improvement, (2) accountability for service quality, (3) service consultation and improvement tools, (4) service values and behaviors, (5) education and training, (6) ongoing monitoring and control and (7) recognition and reward.

The model was fully implemented and tested in five departments in which patient satisfaction scores were below the 90th percentile target. Extent of the implementation was at the discretion of Mayo Clinic department leadership. Perception data were collected from randomly selected patients and monitored over a 24-month period. The largest increases in patient perception of excellence over the pilot period were realized when all seven prongs of the model were implemented as a comprehensive improvement approach.

Denise Kennedy, Mayo Clinic Service Coordinator and an author of the study, says, "In the past three years, we have used data to increase awareness of service issues, put a structure in place to enhance accountability and developed tools and resources to help department leaders improve performance. Creating the best possible experience is the right thing to do for the patient, and, in a system that pays for value, it benefits the organization."

Kennedy co-authored the paper with Richard Caselli, M.D., Mayo Clinic's Medical Director for Service and Leonard Berry, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University. For more information, email kennedy.denise1@mayo.edu.

###

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit MayoClinic.com or MayoClinic.org/news.

Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.