University of Missouri Health Care Announces Collaboration With Mayo Medical Laboratories

COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 23, 2015) — University of Missouri Health Care has selected Mayo Medical Laboratories as its primary reference laboratory for advanced laboratory testing. The collaboration will make test results available to providers and patients faster through MU Health Care’s electronic medical record. It is also expected to save MU Health Care more than $1 million annually.

This agreement provides MU Health Care physicians and staff with access to Mayo Clinic’s extensive menu of more than 4,000 laboratory tests in every subspecialty of medicine. Also, MU Health Care laboratories and practitioners will be able to speak directly with Mayo physicians and scientists to review patient test orders and interpret results.

Specimens obtained at MU Health Care will be transported via air to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, with results often available the following day through a computer interface that enters the information directly into each patient’s medical record. Additionally, Mayo Medical Laboratories will work closely with MU Health Care to enhance the test menu of MU-performed tests through a suite of consultation and support services.

“Mayo Medical Laboratories will help us build on and diversify in-house lab testing at MU Health Care,” says William Miller, M.D., director of clinical laboratories and transfusion medicine for MU Health Care. “Our highly skilled laboratory staff members perform more than one million lab tests each year, and this new relationship will further enhance their expertise and benefits to our patients.

“The new agreement pertains only to those specialized tests that are currently being outsourced to laboratories outside our health system,” Miller adds. “Of the approximate 3,000 different medical tests that we offer at MU Health Care, the health system previously outsourced certain proprietary or specialized tests to about 50 different laboratories. By consolidating services with Mayo Clinic, we will be saving time and money.”