The Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has co-launched a new venture focused on reducing the cost of low-complexity care and commodity diagnostics at a mass scale. Mayo is partnering with virtual healthcare company Safe Health Group, Inc., using its digital health and connected diagnostics platform to improve access to efficient, affordable treatment for common medical conditions.
This venture, called Safe Health Systems, Inc., is part of the Mayo Clinic Platform, a strategic initiative to improve healthcare through insights and knowledge derived from data and delivered through platform business models, officials said in a recent announcement.
“Mayo Clinic Platform believes that the future of virtual care includes on-demand diagnostic testing, including the tracking of lab results and proof of vaccine administration in support of the post-COVID-19 new normal,” John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, said in a statement. “Safe Health Systems, working with Mayo Clinic, will provide the suite of apps and services that universities, employers and organizations need to restart in-person activities and support new care models.”
The SAFE platform aims to enable the rapid implementation of custom digital health applications, which combine digital provider services, artificial intelligence-based care automation and remote point of care diagnostics, officials stated. The absence of remote testing is currently a limiting factor for digital and telehealth treatment of common low-complexity ailments (e.g., sexually transmitted diseases, strep throat, urinary tract infections, upset stomach, strep throat, flu, ear infection, etc.). The current COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for remote diagnostic and digital care services, they added.
The SAFE platform emerged from the Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University Alliance for Health Care MedTech Accelerator program, a program designed to accelerate use-inspired research and improve patient care and outcomes through innovations.
SAFE's initial focus is enabling testing for COVID-19, sexually transmitted diseases and common ailments. The platform is actively deployed for COVID-19 testing, linking patients, clinicians and test providers via HealthCheck, a smartphone and desktop application used to determine a person’s vectors of transmission and provide them access to screening and testing options. As COVID-19 vaccinations become available, the application will support vaccine workflow and verification, officials noted.
Last year, Mayo Clinic launched the Mayo Clinic Platform, a coordinated portfolio approach designed to create new platform ventures and leverage emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, connected healthcare devices and natural language processing. The Mayo Clinic Platform design includes an ecosystem of partners that complement Mayo Clinic's clinical capabilities and provide access to scalable solutions, officials say.
“Safe Health Systems represents the originality, creativity and optimistic belief required to yield innovative and transformative healthcare solutions,” noted Steven Lester, M.D., Mayo Clinic cardiologist, and founder and medical director of the MedTech Accelerator program. “The SAFE platform will support a digital revolution in health care and embodies how the MedTech Accelerator program supports innovative companies in their quest to advance patient-centric healthcare solutions.”
