HJAR Sep/Oct 2021

Q&A platform offers a diverse library of thousands of accredited medical lec- tures and fully narrated surgical pro- cedures, featuring Mayo Clinic experts. The platform provides AMA PRA Cat- egory 1 credits to support continuing education requirements for physicians and advanced nurse practitioners.* Is the Mayo/Unity relationship a subscription service? Would you encourage other rural hospital systems in Arkansas to join the network? There is a fee associated with our MCCN connection. This fee makes it possible for Mayo services offered to our patients to be completely free to them. There is never any cost for Mayo consultations passed on to our patients. In addition, the fee allows Unity to engage with Mayo to learn best practices and receive training on anything frompatient care, human resources, finance and other administrative and operational areas. We consider it a privilege to learn from the No. 1 hospital in the nation. Howhas the relationshipwith theMayo Clinic been received, and are there some specialties that are utilizing this relationshipmore than others? Unity Health physicians and staff have been pleased with the Mayo Clinic relation- ship. They feel fortunate to have access to Mayo Clinic expertise and value the rela- tionship. Our physicians, resident physi- cians, pharmacists, nurses and other staff utilize Ask Mayo Expert for topics such as COVID-19, dermatology, hematology, endo- crinology, gastroenterology, neurology, car- diovascular, psychology and more. Physi- cians most frequently utilize eConsult in the areas of hematology/oncology at 57% and cardiovascular disease at 21%. Unity Health physicians have utilized eConsult 17 times this year. I realize each touchpoint is unique, but as well as you can, walk me through an encounter with the Mayo Clinic Care Network. An eConsult is a nonemergent, electronic consultation between a Unity Health phy- sician and a Mayo Clinic specialist. The request is uploaded toMayo through a con- fidential portal along with relevant medi- cal records. It is then scheduled into a Mayo Clinic specialist’s calendar for the specialist’s review and response. Can a Unity Health patient request to have their chart reviewed by a Mayo specialist, or is this physician/ practitioner-driven? The eConsult is ultimately physician- driven as they have their patient’s best inter- ests in mind. The patient is always their own *https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/care-network/about best advocate, and we respect their wishes for care. A joint decision is made when deemed medically beneficial. Howwould youdescribe your leadership style? I want to lead by example. A leader should be ethical, compassionate, hardworking and treat others with respect. I enjoy serving alongside associates, and I think it’s impor- tant to be team-focused, to include others in decision-making and get different view- points to reach the best outcome for Unity Health. I work closely with our team, and I value the thoughts and ideas of our lead- ers and associates. I’m always examining opportunities that arise and thinking about howwe can lead our organization in the best direction. Our healthcare system and our associates are always on my mind. I care about our people and appreciate all they do to make Unity function to provide patients with quality care. What attracted you to healthcare as a profession? The early delivery of our first child, Pey- ton, delivered at 28 weeks, opened our eyes to the compassionate care we experienced fromhealthcare professionals. I realized this was a way to be in ministry and touch oth- ers’lives the way mine was touched through our hospital stay, 17 years ago. n “As part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, Unity Health physicians canaccessMayo’s clinical resources and collaborate with Mayo specialists, ensuring that patients can benefit from Mayo’s knowledge and expertise locally and need to travel outside the region for care only when necessary.” 22 SEP / OCT 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS