Following an overwhelming response to its recent call for project proposals, the Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery has announced the recipients of 19 awards. These innovative ideas represent collaborations from across Mayo Clinic and throughout Mayo Clinic Health System. They address address health equity and diversity, quality and affordability and telemedicine and remote care. Every project is inspired by real-world challenges experienced by patients and health care providers at Mayo Clinic. 

"We are pleased to be able to be able to restart our health care delivery and quality research awards program with such an impressive group of projects," says Elizabeth Habermann, Ph.D., deputy director of Research for the center. "We look forward to supporting these innovators in their efforts to improve their practice, Mayo's knowledge, and the health of our patients and people everywhere."

Most of the projects are expected to build the evidence for practice transformations across all of Mayo Clinic. Those with local or regional goals are noted with an *. Projects, principal investigators and their home campuses are indicated for grants awarded in these categories:

Health equity and diversity science

• Racial and ethnic health care disparities in intraoperative anesthetic management among general surgery patients, principal investigator Adam Milam, M.D., Ph.D., Arizona.
• * Rural health disparities in the use of biologics for the treatment of allergic diseases, principal investigator Thanai Pongdee, M.D., Rochester, Minnesota.
• The role of race and ethnicity in decision making for pediatric surgery, principal investigator Yu Shi, M.D., Rochester.

Quality and affordability

• Application of artificial intelligence techniques using chest x-rays in predicting patients’ need for mechanical ventilation, co-investigators Pablo Moreno Franco, M.D., Florida, and Matthew Neville, Arizona.
• Comparative cost-of-care analysis of remote patient monitoring for cancer patients with COVID-19, co-investigators Joshua Pritchett, M.D., Rochester, and Nandita Khera, M.D., Arizona.
• * Department of Cardiovascular Medicine outpatient clinical triage project for patients with atrial fibrillation using artificial intelligence algorithm, co-investigators Kyle Klarich, M.D., Malini Madhavan, M.B.B.S., and Sue Graff, Rochester.
• * Early warning risk prediction tool for catheter-associated urinary tract infections — guiding performance to prevention, co-investigators Kai Singbartl, M.D., Eric Siebeneck, and Gina Hull, Arizona.
• * Introduction of performance measures as an indicator of quality among patients participating in a three-week interdisciplinary pain management program, principal investigator Paul Scholten, M.D., Florida.
• Mayo Clinic Neurosurgery Clinical Registry and Dashboard Quality Initiative — Using data to improve patient care, affordability, and surgical outcomes, principal investigator Mohamad Bydon, M.D., Rochester.
• Optimization of the Mayo Clinic Well-Being Index to drive improvements for employee burnout and well-being, co-investigators Kaisa Wieneke and Danielle Teal, Rochester.
• Phenotypic-driven identification of rare genetic disease patients, principal investigator Eric Klee, Ph.D., Rochester.

Telemedicine and remote care

• Access to interdisciplinary specialty team for patients with sickle cell disease via telehealth, principal investigator Asmaa Ferdjallah, M.D., Rochester.
• * Early transition to home for colorectal surgery patients utilizing Advanced Care at Home, co-investigators from Mayo Clinic Health System in Northwest Wisconsin Jason Beckermann, M.D., Eau Claire; and Margaret Paulson, D.O., Menomonie; and Heidi Lindroth, Ph.D., Rochester.
• Emergency Department frequent user Advanced Care at Home restorative-only phase, co-investigators Ellen Love and Johnna Palic, Florida.
• * Institutional integration of fertility services: Improving provider autonomy and patient experience, principal investigator Ali Ainsworth, M.D., Rochester.
• Intervening to improve outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer after presenting to the emergency department, principal investigator Christopher DeStephano, M.D., Florida.
• * Monitoring multiple seizure types with wearable devices, principal investigator Ben Brinkmann, Ph.D., Rochester.
• * Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy risk assessment, principal investigator Doug Challener, M.D., Rochester.
• The transition to outpatient surgery before and after COVID-19: Safety, value, and future implementation, principal investigator Cornelius Thiels, D.O., Rochester.

Projects will receive support from the Mayo Clinic Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery and dedicated time from center staff, including scientists, analysts, project managers and clinical research coordinators. Mayo Clinic benefactor-sponsored funds have been awarded to one of the projects in this cycle from the Genentech Research Fund in Individualized Medicine.

"We hope others across Mayo will see what is possible and consider applying for support during our next request for proposals, expected later this year," says Dr. Habermann. "This kind of work is in the Kern Center's sweet spot, using data and analytics to inform practice transformation in a learning health system."

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