Dartmouth-Hitchcock Joins Mayo Clinic Care Network

As part of the MCCN, Dartmouth-Hitchcock will have access to Mayo's clinical expertise and clinical tools, as well as electronic physician consultations. David Hayes, MD, medical director for the network, told HealthLeaders Media that the initial focus will be cardiology and neurology services with the expectation that more disciplines will be added to the program over time.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the Mayo Clinic have several ongoing relationships. They have worked together on research projects and both are part of the High Value Healthcare Collaborative, which is a program developed by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice for health systems to share best practices and outcomes data. Those relationships will remain outside the MCCN agreement.

Hayes said the MCCN program is in expansion mode although at this time it has no particular goal for membership. "It really depends on how the project is going and the size of the organizations" that might want to join. He says Mayo is talking to a number of systems the size and sophistication of Dartmouth-Hitchcock but smaller groups are also interested.