Sg2 Blog

This post was originally published on Sg2’s parent company Vizient Inc’s blog. In today’s rapidly expanding direct-to-employer contracting sphere, it is of critical importance that employers understand the entire value equation. Too often, an employer’s focus is solely on a discount off what they are currently spending on a per-unit basis and doesn’t consider the myr...

Sg2, a Vizient company, is pleased to announce the addition of Melissa Threlkeld, MHA, FACHE, and Heidi Pandya, MSHA, as principals within its consulting practice. “We are thrilled to be adding Ms Threlkeld and Ms Pandya to the Sg2 team,” says Sg2 senior vice president John Becker. “They bring a wealth of experience successfully driving growth for provider organizations in a var...

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on Sg2’s parent company Vizient Inc’s blog. For most of 2020, COVID-19 disrupted and significantly altered the infrastructure of the world’s industries, including health care delivery and services. But at what level can we expect health care to return to pre-pandemic levels? What are the long-term effects of the pandemic ev...

Editor’s note: this post was originally published on Sg2’s parent company Vizient Inc’s blog. Frustrated with high costs, a growing number of self-insured companies are considering going in a different direction: contracting directly with high-performing health systems for their employees’ specialty care. Aiming for healthier, more productive employees and lower costs, ind...

Hospital at home programs have been gradually increasing in number in recent years, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the shift to home health and virtual care greatly accelerated. Half of families are more likely to choose in-home care for their loved ones now than they were prior to the pandemic, and almost half of physicians use virtual health technologies to treat patients. Now that home is ...

Virtual visit volumes have increased dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many health systems have made strides in virtual health program implementation. However, virtual visits are only one element of a robust digital health program. Provider systems have yet to fully capitalize on the benefits of digital solutions, and the vast menu available can be confounding. Understanding how specific...

Editor’s note: this post was originally published on Sg2’s parent company Vizient Inc’s blog. What do Boeing, General Electric, Lowe’s and Walmart have in common? They are among a growing number of self-insured employers bypassing traditional benefit networks offered by insurers and instead contracting directly with health systems to deliver health care services to their e...

Each year at Sg2 we debut the latest health care projections from our 10-year Impact of Change® (IoC) national demand forecast. After a year of sharp declines in volume and pronounced shifts in site of care, 2021 recovery to pre-pandemic utilization takes hold, with some key exceptions. Inpatient admissions, which declined approximately 10% nationally in 2020, are projected to largely recover ...

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a myriad of operational and strategic priorities for integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and brought to their attention the importance of an agile, rapid-cycle strategic planning process. In today’s health care climate, it has become clear that partnerships are not only beneficial, they are necessary, and this realization creates a unique window of opportunity fo...

On Tuesday, April 12, 2021, the White House issued a proclamation designating April 11–17 as Black Maternal Health Week. President Biden recognized that Black women experience a maternal mortality rate that is two to three times higher than other demographic groups and that more than 60% of these deaths are preventable. Excess maternal mortality among Black women is multifactorial and calls...