In healthcare — and specifically, clinical diagnostics — no single organization has unlimited resources. That’s why collaboration is essential for investing in diverse areas to make groundbreaking tools for diagnosis and treatment available to clinicians and the patients they serve. While working together can be powerful, making it most effective requires thoughtful planning and investment. Here are four critical steps to building successful collaborations.
1. Understand how your organization uniquely benefits
Strong collaborations begin with a clear understanding of your organization’s unique challenges and strengths. For example, an organization may have a strong pipeline of new innovations but lack the marketing infrastructure to drive demand. Without these insights about your organization, it’s difficult to determine how a potential partner can complement your capabilities. Gaining clarity will make it easier to select partners that best complement your organization.
2. Adopt a business model that fuels collaboration
Any healthcare organization can benefit from collaboration, but adopting the right business model can maximize its impact. For example, Mayo Clinic Laboratories embraced a platform business model in 2024 to provide a robust test menu that features the latest innovations from Mayo Clinic and other like-minded organizations.
This model brings together diagnostic solutions in new ways that make it easier to deliver more comprehensive answers for healthcare providers and their patients. With many diagnostic options in one place, it also becomes easier to collect data across the diagnostic ecosystem — identifying unmet patient and organizational needs as well as repurposing existing tools for new disease areas.
3. Select the right collaborators
Regardless of your business model, not every collaborator will be the right fit. A strategic evaluation of potential partners ensures alignment in values, a shared value proposition, and mutually beneficial relationships that foster innovation and growth.
- Alignment: Organizations must share similar values, visions, and business objectives. This alignment reduces the risk of conflict and helps build sustainable, meaningful collaborations that drive innovation and deliver valuable solutions for healthcare.
- Value proposition: A collaboration should create value for the market by addressing critical healthcare needs or advancing patient care. Addressing a genuine need increases the likelihood of creating impactful solutions that are in demand and improve patient care.
- Mutually beneficial: Collaborations must generate meaningful value for all involved. This could include enhanced capabilities, increased innovation, or improved efficiency. For example, Mayo Clinic Laboratories recently engaged companies to offer solutions that advance neurodegenerative disease diagnostics and enhance cancer testing to better inform treatment decisions. These collaborators fill gaps in our diagnostic capabilities, while we offer them a streamlined path to market. When both organizations benefit, they develop a shared purpose and common goals that support long-term success through ongoing teamwork, resilience, and continued investment.
4. Manage relationships effectively
Finding the right partner is just the beginning. Ongoing relationship management is essential and should start by establishing clear, shared expectations. Then, revisit the expectations regularly and be willing to adjust — or even end an agreement — as industry trends, geopolitical conditions, and other internal and external factors evolve. Reviewing data regularly to assess performance and guide transparent conversations is critical to those decisions. Without honest, data-driven conversations, you risk harming relationships and continuing to invest in arrangements that no longer deliver value and divert resources from more promising opportunities.
Unlock the potential
In today’s dynamic healthcare landscape, collaboration isn’t just a strategic advantage — it’s a necessity. You can unlock the full potential by understanding your organization’s unique strengths, adopting a business model that fosters cooperation, selecting aligned organizations, and managing those relationships effectively. These steps pave the way for more innovative solutions and ensure that collaborations remain purposeful and impactful for collaborators, clinicians, and patients.
