Rochester Epidemiology Project

The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) is a population-based medical records linkage system that was established by Leonard T. Kurland in 1966. It exploits the geographic isolation of Olmsted County in southeastern Minnesota from other urban centers so that almost all medical care for residents of the county (or the central city of Rochester) is delivered within the community. Care is mainly provided by Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center. Mayo Clinic is a major referral center but has always provided primary, secondary, as well as tertiary care to local residents. It employs a dossier (or unit) medical record for each individual containing the details of every admission to its two affiliated hospitals (St. Marys and Rochester Methodist), every outpatient office or clinic visit, all emergency ...