Sg2 Blog

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...

As children’s hospitals and large pediatric programs work toward recovery and stabilization, administrative and clinical leaders are assessing which elements of COVID-19 disruption and innovation are here to stay. Many children’s hospitals have begun to understand their continued volume depletion, attributing lost emergency department and inpatient volumes to the natural consequences ...

Editor’s note: Principal Rebecca Segel also contributed to this post. Three cultural influencing trends are colliding in the US: a global pandemic, a recession and a racial inequity awakening. Each of these is drawing more attention to what we already know in health care—that is, factors such as race, socioeconomic status, environmental elements and social structures influence health....