Vitals Launches MEG – A Medical Expertise Guide for Health Care Shopping

Research shows little correlation between cost and quality in health care. While routine screenings and lab tests can be shopped on price alone, quality measures, such as infection and complication rates, are critical decision drivers when shopping for surgeries. MEG recommendations are informed by quality scores for both hospitals and surgeons. Consumers discuss their options with MEG’s team of health care professionals who help them navigate to the highest value facilities for inpatient, outpatient, or short stay surgeries.

Consumers want information and support to help them navigate their health care options. The personalized support from MEG health care professionals is key to directing care for surgical procedures. Based on data from Vitals’ existing enterprise solutions,70 percent of members direct their care to high-quality, cost-effective facilities when they make an appointment with personal assistance.

A true end-to-end service, MEG follows a consumer through the entire health care journey, providing information, scheduling consultations and second opinions and following up on post-procedure care. In addition to quality metrics, MEG provides ratings and reviews from patients – offering a complete picture of both clinical outcomes and patient experience.

“MEG brings consumers information, powered by data and analytics and supported by personalized service, to help them make quality health care decisions with confidence,” said Heyward Donigan, President and CEO of Vitals. “MEG guides employees to the best care while helping employers manage the overall cost-effectiveness of their health care program.”

Data Powers Confidence and Cost Savings

While employees can directly call a MEG health care professional, the program’s engagement strategy is powered through predictive analytics and modeling. MEG can identify members on a diagnostic journey that has the potential to lead to expensive surgery. For instance, proprietary data from Vitals shows 90 percent of members diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee (knee pain) have an MRI within two weeks. Following knee pain, up to 35 percent of members move to knee replacement surgery within five years.

This type of modeling enables proactive outreach from Vitals’ concierge services, such as MEG’s health professionals or the Personal Assistant Team, available through Vitals SmartShopper. By pairing the Vitals digital health care platform with personal support, members can make better-informed, quality care decisions earlier, leading to greater savings over the course of a patient journey. So, while a member will save $595 on average for an initial MRI of the knee – shopped through Vitals SmartShopper – they can save another $4,200 on average for knee replacement surgery shopped through MEG.

Other MEG surgeries and procedures drive similar high-dollar savings. Shopped hip replacements save on average $9,421. Shopped bariatric surgeries save $5,354 on average.

Example of MEG Surgery Savings

MEG's predictive analytics capabilities are powered by the newly launched Vitals 360 division. This new division is focused on developing and advancing innovative data, quality and predictive analytics technologies to extend Vitals’ cost and engagement solutions, as well as to establish new capabilities that enable health plans to execute on their provider network strategies more effectively and efficiently.

About Vitals

Vitals empowers everyone to shop for their health care like an expert. Our integrated high-tech, right-touch platform directs people to better, more affordable care. Vitals leads the market with a digital health platform powered by predictive analytics, engagement and incentive designs that drive new levels of engagement. Our company creates measurable and sustainable health care savings for consumers, employers and health plans.

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