Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation

Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation. The Center for Innovation is a dedicated unit within the Mayo Clinic focused on transforming the experience and delivery of healthcare through human-centered design and collaborative research. Established in 2008, it serves as an internal catalyst for developing novel care models, services, and technologies. Its work integrates insights from fields like behavioral economics and systems engineering to address complex challenges in patient care and clinical practice.

History and founding

The Center for Innovation was formally launched in 2008 under the leadership of Nicholas LaRusso and Barbara Spurrier, with foundational support from Denis Cortese, then president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. Its creation was a strategic response to growing systemic pressures in the United States healthcare system, aiming to proactively redesign care rather than merely react to external changes. The initiative built upon Mayo Clinic's long-standing ethos of collaborative, patient-centered care, famously championed by founders William Worrall Mayo and his sons, including William James Mayo. Early inspiration was drawn from design thinking methodologies pioneered at institutions like the Stanford University d.school and IDEO.

Mission and approach

The core mission is to catalyze the transformation of healthcare by designing new services, tools, and care models that profoundly improve the human experience for patients, their families, and care teams. Its approach is fundamentally rooted in human-centered design, which involves deep ethnographic research, rapid prototyping, and iterative testing with stakeholders. The center employs a multidisciplinary team that blends expertise from clinical medicine, social science, industrial design, and business strategy. This methodology is often applied through collaborative platforms like the Transform conference and partnerships with external entities such as the Kaiser Permanente Garfield Innovation Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Key projects and initiatives

Notable projects have spanned various aspects of the care continuum. The **Connected Care** initiative reimagined chronic disease management by integrating remote monitoring and digital tools. The **SPARC** program focused on innovating within specific clinical spaces like the Emergency Department and Primary Care clinics. Development of the **Mayo Clinic Health Connection** platform explored new models for community-based health and wellness. The center has also incubated concepts leading to spin-off ventures, contributing to the ecosystem of the Mayo Clinic Ventures portfolio. Collaborative research with the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has further advanced its applied work.

Organizational structure and leadership

The center operates as an integral department within the Mayo Clinic, reporting through the organization's clinical practice and research leadership. It is co-directed by a physician leader and an administrative director, fostering a bridge between clinical operations and innovation processes. Key historical leaders have included Medical Directors Nicholas LaRusso and John H. Noseworthy, who later served as Mayo Clinic's CEO. The administrative director role has been held by Barbara Spurrier since inception. The team comprises design strategists, project managers, clinical liaisons, and research fellows, often collaborating closely with departments like the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Impact and recognition

The center's work has influenced care delivery both within Mayo Clinic and across the broader healthcare industry, contributing to new standards in patient experience and clinic design. Its methodologies and case studies are frequently cited in academic literature and have been presented at forums like the World Economic Forum. The center's leaders are often invited to speak at institutions such as the Harvard Business School and the Cleveland Clinic. Its impact is evidenced by the adoption of its designed care models in various Mayo Clinic Health System sites and through awards from organizations like the American College of Healthcare Executives. The center is regarded as a pioneering model for embedding design innovation within a major academic medical center.

Category:Mayo Clinic Category:Healthcare in the United States Category:Medical and health organizations based in Minnesota Category:Organizations established in 2008