StrataSphere®
The National Patient and Procedure Volume Tracker™
The 2021 National Patient and Procedure Volume Tracker
New Year, New Analytics. Welcome to the new 2021 National Patient and Procedure Volume Tracker. Following last year’s report, we have made several key changes to provide more data, new analytics and adjusted methodology to better understand the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on hospitals and health systems. We hope you find this report even more useful than the 2020 version.
| 4/12/2021 | Monthly Report – April 2021 | Download |
| 3/8/2021 | Monthly Report – March 2021 | Download |
| 2/8/2021 | Monthly Report – February 2021 | Download |
| 1/25/2021 | Monthly Report – January 2021 | Download |
We will release an updated version of the National Patient and Procedure Volume Tracker on the second Monday of each month. In the report, you can expect to find:
More Data
- Over 30 additional hospitals added to the 2021 report
- Now tracking shifts in payor mix beyond Self Pay
- Added Children’s Hospitals to the data set
New Analytics
- Now reporting on COVID-19 hospitalizations – with one of the largest databases for COVID-19 inpatients
- Added ED and Observation to Inpatient Conversion rates which gauge how hospitals are utilizing those departments
- Service line data now split between Inpatient and Outpatient data
Methodology Adjustments
- Moving to using a six month rolling average to compare recent shifts in volume changes
- Using the UB Revenue Code in the encounter’s charge line item detail to identify encounter as an Inpatient (IP), Emergency (ED), Observation (Obs) or Outpatient (OP) encounter
- More uniform tracking of encounters across hospitals and better tracking of how many emergency room and observation patients convert to inpatients — something we were not able to track in 2020
For a full review of the National Patient and Procedure Volume Tracker in 2020, download the The National Patient and Procedure Volume Tracker™ 2020 Review.
About StrataSphere®
StrataSphere currently includes over 100 participating health systems, representing more than $150 billion in operating expense. Whereas existing comparative analytics and benchmarking solutions rely primarily on public datasets, StrataSphere provides accurate, actionable and timely comparisons of key metrics. StrataSphere utilizes machine learning to leverage trillions of data points from this network of providers already using StrataJazz for financial planning, analytics and performance. For this reason, participation in StrataSphere requires no additional data submission or work effort.
Six-Month Analysis of Patient and Procedure Volume at 275 Hospitals Shows an Industry in Slow Recovery
On May 11, 2020 we produced the original National Patient and Procedure Volume Tracker™ (NPPVT) published based on data from the StrataSphere network. At that time, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was pushing many hospitals to the brink of financial collapse. Volumes, particularly surgical procedure volumes, were falling rapidly across the country and the Northeast saw a massive spike in COVID-19 volumes with very high mortality rates. The rest of the country began to cancel “elective” care and took extraordinary measures to ensure that hospitals wouldn’t be overwhelmed. At the same time, concern was growing as patients stopped coming in for needed care.
Six months later, the landscape, while still very difficult, looks markedly different thanks to the infusion of $175 billion from the CARES Act and the heroic efforts of healthcare providers and systems. Despite highly politicized, state-by-state decisions, health systems stood resolute. In recent months, we have witnessed dramatically lower mechanical ventilator use and mortality rates. And today, it’s clear that institutions can manage COVID-19 volumes while safely treating patients suffering from other issues.