Mayo Clinic bets on Gulf data leap

Mayo Clinic Platform is positioning the Gulf as a proving ground for a new generation of data-driven healthcare, with its chief operating officer Maneesh Goyal outlining plans to expand the organisation’s digital ecosystem and deploy two flagship offerings, Orchestrate and Insights, across the region.

Speaking on the sidelines of World Health Expo Dubai 2026, Goyal said the future of medicine will be shaped less by individual hospitals and more by interoperable platforms that connect providers, researchers and technology companies. He described the platform model as a response to mounting pressures on health systems worldwide, from ageing populations and chronic disease to spiralling costs and workforce shortages.

Mayo Clinic Platform, an initiative of the US-based Mayo Clinic, was launched to accelerate innovation through secure data collaboration. It enables partners to build, validate and deploy artificial intelligence tools using de-identified clinical data within a governed environment. Goyal said the strategy has evolved beyond experimentation to operational deployment, with a focus on scaling solutions that can be embedded directly into clinical workflows.

Central to that expansion are two offerings: Orchestrate, designed to help health systems integrate and manage AI tools across multiple vendors, and Insights, which aims to generate actionable intelligence from aggregated datasets. Goyal characterised Orchestrate as a “control tower” for digital health, enabling hospitals to evaluate algorithms for safety, bias and performance before they are rolled out. Insights, he said, is geared towards population-level analysis, supporting predictive modelling and early intervention strategies.

Healthcare leaders in the Gulf have signalled strong interest in such capabilities. Countries including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have invested heavily in digital infrastructure and national health data strategies as part of broader economic diversification programmes. Goyal argued that these investments create conditions that differ markedly from legacy systems in Europe and North America, where fragmented records and outdated IT architectures can slow innovation.

“Many Gulf systems are building at scale with digital at the core,” he said, adding that the absence of entrenched legacy platforms allows policymakers to adopt common data standards and governance frameworks from the outset. That, he suggested, reduces integration costs and accelerates the adoption of advanced analytics.

Regional authorities have prioritised electronic medical records, telemedicine and AI-assisted diagnostics over the past decade. Expo floors in Dubai have showcased everything from robotic surgery to cloud-based imaging platforms, reflecting a policy push to attract global healthcare players. Goyal said Mayo Clinic Platform sees the region not only as a market but as a partner in co-developing solutions that can be exported elsewhere.

Data governance remains a central concern. Cross-border data sharing is often constrained by privacy regulations and public trust. Goyal emphasised that Mayo Clinic Platform operates within strict compliance frameworks, using de-identification techniques and secure enclaves that allow algorithms to be trained without exposing patient identities. He added that transparent oversight and clear accountability are essential if AI tools are to gain acceptance among clinicians and regulators.

Industry analysts note that the global market for healthcare AI is expanding rapidly, with applications ranging from radiology and pathology to revenue cycle management. Yet many pilot projects fail to translate into measurable clinical impact. Goyal acknowledged that challenge, saying the platform’s role is to move beyond proof-of-concept towards demonstrable outcomes, such as reduced hospital admissions or improved diagnostic accuracy.

He also pointed to partnerships with technology firms and academic institutions aimed at broadening the data ecosystem. By pooling datasets from diverse geographies and demographics, the platform seeks to mitigate bias and enhance the generalisability of AI models. Gulf populations, with distinct epidemiological profiles and high prevalence of conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, offer valuable insights for global research.

Health economists argue that platform-based approaches could help address inefficiencies that account for a significant share of healthcare expenditure. Predictive analytics can identify high-risk patients earlier, while automated triage systems may ease pressure on overstretched staff. Goyal said Orchestrate is intended to give chief information officers a unified view of all deployed algorithms, including performance metrics and compliance status, reducing duplication and unmanaged risk.

Competition in the digital health space is intensifying, with major cloud providers and specialist start-ups vying for contracts. Goyal maintained that Mayo Clinic’s clinical heritage gives it credibility in validating tools before they reach the bedside. He described the organisation’s role as a “convener”, bringing together innovators and health systems under a shared governance structure.