Dec 18
2015
Implementing an Effective Population Health Management Program
Guest post by Mohd Haque, vice president and global business head, healthcare, Wipro Technologies.
Population health management (PHM) isn’t just the latest buzzword. Or a new initiative mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Implementing a successful PHM program requires a complete shift in mindset from volume healthcare to value-based and outcome-based. PHM can’t be something that your healthcare facility “does,” but it must become the cornerstone of everything related to how your facility practices medicine.
Although the shift in perspective is the first step, it is essential to arm yourself with Population Health Management IT tools as well. According to 26th Annual HIMSS Study, half of the respondents (51 percent) have improved PHM through IT tools with only 38 percent saying that their organization was using specific Population Health Management tools.
By using big data analytics, EHR integration, IT infrastructure and security as part of a PHM program, providers can ensure patients that need high levels of care aren’t overlooked and the lower risk patients don’t get unnecessary care. This will in turn increase quality of care while saving money on interventions needed for low risk patients.
What are the Components of Effective PHM Program?
Since PHM is such a large shift, it is important to know exactly how to go about creating an environment that focuses on outcomes instead of volume. Population Health Alliance recommends the following four components to a PHM program:
- Assessment – Evaluate each patient’s health and assign patients to a risk group (high to low)
- Stratification – Provide the same interventions for everyone in the same risk group
- Person-Centered Intervention – Provide interventions based on each specific patient’s needs, including community health research
- Impact Evaluation – Determine the impact of interventions for each risk group as well as each individual patient
However, you can’t simply change the process without changing how each person on the team views healthcare and their patients. It must be a fundamental shift in your facility from the receptionist to the department chief.