Quality and Mayo Clinic

Quality can be defined and measured in many ways. At Mayo Clinic, quality is not just a simple measure. Quality is a comprehensive look at all aspects of a patient's experience. Our patients seek excellence in care, the best medical knowledge and experience, the best technology available and the kindness and hope offered by our staff. Quality can be measured in the outcomes achieved such as mortality rates and surgical infections; in the compliance with evidence-based processes known to enhance care; in the volume of patients successfully treated who have complex diagnoses and procedures; and in the safety record of the institution.

Quality and service can also be measured in other ways such as the amount of time spent with each patient; making sure each patient is treated with respect, kindness and dignity by every member of the Mayo team; making sure appointments are on time and that all test results and other patient information are available to every doctor whenever it is needed.

Quality at Mayo Clinic involves the totality of a patient's experience — from the first phone call to the last appointment.

Measuring Quality

Many organizations today are measuring quality in health care using varying criteria. Evaluating this information can be difficult and time-consuming since not all measures reflect the same information from one report to another. However, it is important for patients to ask questions and look at quality information to ensure they are getting the efficient and effective care they need.

Mayo Clinic takes pride in the quality health care provided at each of its three clinic locations and in the Mayo Health System , a network of clinics and hospitals in more than 60 communities in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A survey of many different health care quality reports shows one notable result — Mayo Clinic is the only medical center listed at or near the top of every report.