One-on-one with Dr. Noseworthy: achievements, the future, and other (surprising) questions

By Elizabeth Harty • December 17, 2013

John Noseworthy

In its recent "The Interview Issue," Twin Cities Business (or TCB, as it's known in the biz journal biz), went "one-on-one with 28 of the region's key CEOs, public policy power players, thought leaders, and Fortune 500 execs.” In the interest of creating a "collection of candid commentary," the journal asked folks like Mayo's own John Noseworthy, M.D., things like, How's it going businesswise? What are your key achievements? How do you see your future? (In so many words.) Along with some lighter questions like, "Red, white or beer?" (See Dr. Noseworthy's diplomatic response to that last question below.)

One thing that struck us about Dr. Noseworthy's interview was that just about the first words out of his mouth, when asked about how Mayo is doing, were about you all. "Our staff is doing a fantastic job responding to the external pressures," he said when asked how Mayo is tracking with its financial plans. He went on to say that Mayo has "seen this coming" and has been not reacting so much as "planning for 2020, if you will." And he notes that "the changes our staff is all making to increase the efficiency of our practice, so all our patients get all the care they need, when they need, in the right place" is not only improving "our safety, our quality, our efficiency, our patient satisfaction" but also the "value of our care." That's essential, he says, to having "the most trusted and yet affordable, highest-quality health care system."

Dr. Noseworthy also talked about Mayo's biggest achievements: "Investing the time, energy, and resources in our staff … then letting their creativity go and harnessing that going forward is unquestionably our best investment." And about the Destination Medical Center initiative: "This is really an extension of what we’ve done in the last decade … We are the No. 1 private employer in the state. As we grow, it will be good for the cities, community, and state." And about Mayo's influence on the national health care landscape: "Mayo’s entire strategy to try to create a sustainable system, not just for Mayo, but indeed for the country … Essentially we’re taking what Mayo knows about how to practice medicine -- both the medical side as well as the business side, and how we work -- and codifying and digitizing it." (The Mayo Clinic Care Network model, if you will.)

The Biz Journal gang also asked four questions we'd have never thought to ask Dr. Noseworthy:

Best Book I’ve Read This Year:
The Cartographer of No Man’s Land by P.S. Duffy

Red or White, or Beer?
Red with meat, white with fish

Favorite Vacation Destination:
Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada

Wall Street Journal or New York Times?
Read and enjoy them both. They complement each other.

You can read Dr. Noseworthy's full interview online. Then leave a comment to tell us if you guessed "Bay of Fundy" or the answers to any of the other questions.