Population Health Management (PHM), White Paper Preview

If one were to Google “Population Health Management,” a less than one second search returns nearly 65 Million results. Needless to say, that’s a lot. And to say Population Health Management (PHM) is trending within the healthcare industry is a vast understatement. With that many search results / that much information, it seems we collectively have a handle on it; but do we really? Plus, why all the rage?

PHM is a term used to describe a system of care that focuses on ensuring people receive the right care, from the right providers, in the right place, at the right time. Fundamentally, it shifts the focus of health care away from episodic “sick” care to continuous and coordinated maintenance of good health. At the same time, the focus is shifted from the traditional model of care for the individual patient to evidence-based, high quality and high value care for populations of patient with similar conditions. Without a doubt, the United States must change the way in which healthcare is delivered in order for costs to be manageable and sustainable. There’s no other option, we must change.

However, PHM is much more complex than simply treating a large group of patients and in Impact Advisors’ recent “Population Health Management Primer,” we define and discuss the strategies and elements necessary for successful PHM. For example, the importance of data and data analytics to support population health initiatives cannot be over-emphasized and we break it down into four major categories: Population Analytics and Reporting; Population Outreach and Care Management; Care Planning and Coordination; and Patient Engagement. Additionally, there are accompanying IT initiatives key to success such as:

• Identification of care gaps through decision support tools
• Risk stratification
• Transparent quality and outcomes measurement
• Telemedicine
• Predictive modeling
• Ambulatory EHR network
• Health Information Exchange (HIE)

Read on for more on PHM and in-depth strategies for success by downloading our recent white paper here. For information on PHM consulting services, contact Dr. Tonya Edwards at tonya.edwards@impact-advisors.com.