Baylor Scott & White to grow digital capabilities amid pandemic layoffs, pay cuts

Jim Hinton, CEO of Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health, issued a statement that the system is laying off 1,200 employees and enacting executive pay cuts as a result of financial pressure caused by the pandemic, and going forward it will focus on growing digital offerings and direct patient care.

As part of the health system's plan to strengthen it's organization for the future, Baylor Scott & White plans to enhance its digital offerings, according to the statement. During the pandemic, the health system rapidly expanded its telemedicine capabilities and conducted more than 75 percent of clinic visits virtually. Its MyBSWHealth app also became an important tool during the pandemic, facilitating almost 175,000 digital screenings and more than 45,000 electronic visits related to COVID-19.

The health system also set up processes to evaluate tens of thousands of patients' mild symptoms outside of the clinic and emergency department, and plans to continue these efforts. On May 22, the system received a $100,000 donation from Reliant to support its mobile app as the system's "digital front door" for virtual care. The app allows for digital appointment scheduling and virtual visits as well as patient communication with care teams and virtual prescription management.

There are around 1.4 million patients who have a MyBSWHealth account and 500,000 active users.