The primary focus of population health management is to improve the population’s health. It is accomplished through many initiatives. One of these efforts is the Affordable Care Act, which rewards health providers and other organizations for improving population health. In addition, the act also imposes new requirements for health care providers, such as practice-based population health management, or PBPH.
Prevention
Population health management is a system of services that coordinates health care for a defined population. It includes preventive services, the promotion of healthy behaviors, and the tracking of health metrics. The population health management programs focus on the social, cultural, and environmental determinants of health, which can affect health outcomes more than medical care alone.
Preventive interventions may be universal, indicated, or targeted. Universal preventive measures would benefit all members of the population and focus on shifting the distribution of disease. They would also require broad public support. Meanwhile, selective preventive measures would only target individuals with higher-than-average risk.
Population health management is an interdisciplinary field with many different applications. It focuses on improving the health of an entire population through public policy, accident and injury prevention, and research. It also focuses on partnerships between government agencies, insurance companies, and providers. Population health management programs can reduce healthcare costs by implementing a prevention-oriented approach. They can also improve the quality of health care.
However, funding for population health management is often a challenge. In the US, healthcare costs are among the highest in developed nations. Patients also experience a higher percentage of poor health outcomes from chronic conditions. In addition, the fee-for-service system is among the world’s least efficient and expensive healthcare systems.
Healthy Outcomes
Healthy outcomes in population health management refer to the coordination of care across a population. It includes coordinating preventive services and promoting healthy behaviors. It also includes measuring and analyzing health metrics to improve population health. The world health organization identifies social determinants of health as factors that influence health outcomes, which are important in reducing health inequities.
While numerous factors contribute to population health, the primary focus is prevention and health outcomes. Initiatives may include promoting healthy diets and supporting people with diabetes and pre-diabetes. Although the primary focus of population health management is prevention, healthcare programs and services often include hospital care and doctor visits.
While mortality rates are the most common metric for measuring a population’s health, several other metrics are useful for evaluating population health. Life expectancy, for example, is much easier to communicate to the public than mortality rates. However, it may be difficult to make meaningful changes in mortality rates.
The US’s most common population health outcomes are mortality data from death certificates. In addition, various population health surveys provide data on subjective health, functional status, and experiential state.
Reducing Health Disparities
Population health management is an important strategy for improving health and reducing health disparities. This goal is particularly important for people of color, who will comprise more than half the population by 2050. First, however, leaders must understand and connect with communities to make this goal a reality. It includes collaboration with community organizations and addressing the needs of patients.
Effective Population Health Management programs will proactively identify healthcare needs and gaps in care. For example, a robust Population Health Management program may recognize that a child missed a routine well-child visit or that a senior missed a daily aspirin dose. This approach allows them to provide follow-up care, education, and coordination with their provider.
Reducing health disparities is important because it can affect the quality of life for vulnerable communities. Public health administrators can reduce the impact of these disparities by promoting the best public health practices. They can implement a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to bring public health concerns into the decision-making process. Health Impact Assessments also help vulnerable communities reduce costs associated with health care.
Reducing health disparities is also essential for social justice. Historically, people of color and other groups have suffered higher rates of illness and death than non-minorities. Addressing these health disparities is critical to improving our nation’s health and economic prosperity. The federal government has identified this issue as a top priority and has launched initiatives to address health disparities. Many private organizations are also involved in this effort.