Bismarck-based St. Alexius joins Mayo Clinic Care Network

Mayo Clinic and St. Alexius Medical Center today announced that the Bismarck-based organization is the newest member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. St. Alexius is the first medical center in western North Dakota to have passed Mayo's rigorous review process and been selected as a member of the year-old network. The Mayo Clinic Care Network extends Mayo Clinic's knowledge and expertise to physicians and providers interested in working together in the best interest of their patients.

St. Alexius' physicians will now be able to connect with Mayo Clinic specialists on questions of patient care using an electronic consulting technique called eConsults. St. Alexius physicians also will have access to Mayo-vetted medical information through the AskMayoExpert database. These tools, in addition to health care consulting, will help St. Alexius provide the best care for its patients as well as improve its systems and the health of the community.

"Mayo Clinic and St. Alexius are committed to improve the delivery of health care through high-quality, data-driven, evidence-based medical care and treatment," says David Hayes, M.D., medical director, Mayo Clinic Care Network. "Collaborating with other medical providers to provide the best possible care for patients has always been part of Mayo's culture, and through the Mayo Clinic Care Network we can work in new ways with community care organizations to enhance the lives of patients."

"Today, our membership in the Mayo Clinic Care Network will serve to further enhance the level of clinical expertise that our physicians and their patients have access to," says Gary P. Miller, president and CEO, St. Alexius Medical Center. "We are proud to be recognized for our long heritage of healing and quality and to be accepted as a member of the growing Mayo Clinic Care Network."

"This is a great day for our providers, but more importantly for health care consumers in our region," says Shiraz Hyder, M.D., vice president of medical affairs, St. Alexius Medical Center. "Now our providers will be able to tap into the expert resources available at Mayo Clinic, which means even the more complex patients have the opportunity to be treated here at home in consultation with Mayo's experts."