Academic Systems Pursue a Wide Array of Partnerships

Partnerships, now more than ever, are critical to health system growth and performance. These alliances exist in a middle ground between loose relationships and outright acquisitions. To achieve their full potential, they cannot be merely opportunistic but firmly grounded in strategy.

That strategic focus is chief among the short list of priorities academic systems’ leaders now pursue in their partnerships. Leaders also cite an emphasis to:

Shift from defense to offense; rather than reacting to unfavorable market shifts, AMCs are now seeking proactive partners.
Balance health care’s traditionally risk-averse nature against the cost of missed opportunities.
Remain mindful of evolving FTC regulations and guidelines.
Effectively manage the time of the leadership team and board given other strategic needs

Sg2 defines 6 partnership models to help systems achieve their goals by affiliating with nontraditional partners, building more complex relationships and embarking on new ventures.

When tracking AMC partnerships over time using this framework, Sg2 sees decreased activity but more expansive scope in the plays and players.

Notes: 2019 and 2024 data were annualized to estimate totals. 3,273 total partnerships were analyzed, AMCs were one or both members of the partnership in 1,147.
CARE = Clinical Alignment and Resource Effectiveness. Sources: Definitive Healthcare. Partnerships [press release]. October 1, 2019–October 31, 2024.
Accessed October 31, 2024; Sg2 Analysis, 2024.

Some recent notable examples in several of these partnership models include:

Competitors Collaborating

University of Utah Health and CommonSpirit Health unified their missions to enable access to academic faculty physicians at five legacy Steward Health Care hospitals while expanding the capacity of University of Utah Health to serve five states with academic care.

Multisystem Consortia

UChicago Medicine, UChicago and City Colleges of Chicago announced a collaboration to enhance the economic vitality of the Washington Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side by relocating clinical labs to what is currently a vacant lot while also constructing a new lab technician learning center for Malcom X College.

Innovation and New Business Ventures

The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and Helix partnered to launch Ohio State Genomic Health. The precision health initiative will enroll 100,000 participants in no-cost genetic testing and providing channels to proactive prevention and treatment.

Analytics and Big Data

Duke Health and Microsoft created a five-year arrangement to support technology driving AI scripts and solidify Duke Health’s leadership in home-brewing models that enhance clinical care and ensure these are done safely and ethically as founding members of the Coalition for Health AI.

For more examples or a deeper dive into Sg2’s partnership framework, members can access our Q4 2024 AMC newsletter in the AMC Resource Kit or an archived version of our highly popular report Strategic Partnerships for Tomorrow’s Health Care. Not a member? Reach out to us at learnmore@sg2.com for information on the expert intelligence, data-driven insights and strategic perspective we offer to AMCs and health systems nationwide.

Michael Humphrey

National Vice President

Michael leads Sg2’s segment strategy intelligence practice responsible for supporting academic medical centers (AMCs), academic health systems, children’s hospitals and the life sciences. Additionally, he is responsible for the Vizient Research Institute, which advances critical thinking related to the most challenging issues facing the health care industry. He also focuses on advancing thought leadership for these member segments, with a specific focus on chief executive officers and chief strategy officers.

Justin Cassidy, PhD

Associate Principal

Justin engages health system leaders with thought leadership that is grounded in data. He is a frequent speaker at health system retreats, industry conferences, board meetings and Sg2/Vizient events. Justin serves as a trusted adviser to strategy leaders at over a third of the nation’s hospitals, including more than 70 academic medical centers (AMCs). He collaborates with health care managers to convene stakeholders and facilitate discussions between clinical, financial and administrative leaders.

Erika Johnson

Vice President, Strategic Research, Vizient Research Institute

Erika leads the Vizient Research Institute’s annual economic research studies which focus on macroeconomic issues challenging the US health care delivery system. Anchored in rigorous quantitative analysis, Vizient’s economic research studies involve identifying financial and strategic implications to help support academic medical centers and community-based health systems in the movement toward a more sustainable and affordable health care system.