Mayo's finances remained steady in 2018, despite medical record transition
The nation’s top-rated hospital had another steady performance in 2018 despite its ‘Epic’ transition to a new medical record system.
Mayo Clinic generated $12.6 billion in total revenue last year, a 5.1 percent increase over 2017. The Rochester-based medical center — which also operates campuses in Arizona and Florida, along with a network of rural clinics in the Midwest — reported a net operating income of $706 million.
On Tuesday, Mayo said the increase in revenue was driven by strong inpatient volumes, including growth in transplants, surgery inpatients and hospital admissions. The clinic’s news service noted the results were “particularly remarkable” given that the transition to Epic was the largest implementation project in the organization’s history.
“Our strong performance in 2018 is due to the innovative and collaborative efforts by Mayo employees who adapted to changes across the organization while remaining focused on the best interest of our patients,” said Jeff Bolton, Mayo’s chief administrative officer. “That success allowed us to reinvest in our people, our infrastructure and our mission, so we can better serve our patients and communities.”
The Star Tribune reports that, due to issues collecting bills, institutions can sometimes take a hit when implementing new health record systems. While that was not the case for Mayo, it did intentionally slow down its services for several weeks as the system went live. Officials estimate that doing so cost the clinic roughly $50 million in revenue.
Still, Mayo was able to serve more than 1.2 million patients in 2018. The clinic also retained its top ranking from U.S. News & World Report.
Here are some other highlights from 2018:
The strong financial performance allowed Mayo to make a $339 million contribution to the pension plan for staff.
Funding of research and education in 2018 surpassed previous years, totaling $1.1 billion — an increase of 8.1 percent over 2017.
About $1 billion in large-scale projects moved forward in 2018, including the $190 million vertical expansion of the Gonda Building.
Patients and benefactors contributed $504 million to support Mayo Clinic programs in clinical practice, research and education — an increase of 18.9 percent over 2017.
Cover photo: File / Med City Beat
