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By Andrea Nagel
As part
of the Mayo Clinic
Care Network, Kootenai Health
physicians have access to Mayo
Clinic knowledge and expertise
so that more patients can avoid
unnecessary travel for answers
to complex medical questions.
Members of the network have a
close working relationship with
Mayo Clinic and access to tools and
services that promote collaboration
and serve to complement provider
expertise, including:
◗
◗
eConsults
allow network physi-
cians to connect electronically
with Mayo Clinic specialists when
they want additional input
regarding a patient’s care.
◗
◗
AskMayoExpert
provides point-
of-care information compiled
by Mayo physicians on disease
management, care guidelines,
treatment recommendations and
reference materials for a wide
variety of medical conditions.
◗
◗
eTumor Board Conferences
al-
low physicians to present and
discuss management of complex
cancer cases with a Mayo Clinic
multidisciplinary panel and other
members of the network.
“Having direct access to the
leading experts at Mayo Clinic is
a great benefit to our physicians,”
said Casey Meza, executive director
of Affiliated Health Services at
Kootenai Health. “Our physi-
cians are taking advantage of
the eConsults, and we’ve al-
ready had thousands of hits on
AskMayoExpert.”
Along with these online resources,
Kootenai physicians and leaders
can consult with their counterparts
at Mayo Clinic on everything from
policies and best care practices to
growing an entire program.
“Dr. Kathleen Webb and her
neonatology team have been work-
ing very closely with Mayo Clinic
to develop the scope of practice
for neonatal services and the new
NICU,” Casey said. “But our con-
sultations range from something as
large as that to staff attending an
Ebola webinar.”
Soon, staff will also have access
to Mayo-developed patient educa-
tion materials. These materials
will include over 2,500 pieces of
written patient education content,
available in printable PDFs in
English and Spanish.
While being part of the Mayo
Clinic Care Network is a great
advantage for Kootenai’s staff and
physicians, it is an even greater
advantage for patients. It gives
Kootenai providers tools and
resources in specialty areas where
Mayo Clinic’s knowledge and ex-
pertise may be helpful, so patients
are assured of the finest care while
staying close to home.
By the Numbers
J US T MON T HS A F T E R J O I N I NG
T HE MAY O C L I N I C C A R E NE TWORK ,
KOO T ENA I MA RK S O V E R 4 , 0 0 0 H I T S
ON E L E C T RON I C T OO L S
MAYO
CLINIC CARE
NETWORK
STATISTICS
Numbers as of December 2014
8
Total hours of consultation
for the development of
Kootenai’s new NICU
24
Total number of physi
cian eConsults since
July 2014
◗
◗
The largest number for one
specialty is six for otorhino
laryngology (ENT), followed
by cancer services (five), and
cardiology (four)
◗
◗
The two physicians with the
most eConsults are Kevin
Kavanaugh, M.D., with Heart
Clinics Northwest, and Kevin
Mulvey, M.D., with cancer
services—three each
◗
◗
Seventeen physicians have
used eConsults
4,000
Number
of hits, by
Kootenai Health staff, on
AskMayoExpert (AME)
◗
◗
The most popular topic is
hyperlipidemia—meaning too
many lipids (fat cells) in the
blood—with 99 hits.
◗
◗
Second place, with 55 hits,
was abdominal aortic
aneurysm.
169
The number of local
physicians that have
Mayo Clinic eConsult privileges
10
MAYO CLINIC CARE NETWORK