M3 L3 Population Health

What is Population Health?

Population health refers to the health status and health outcomes of a group of individuals including the distribution of outcomes within the group - also referred to as the disparities. What is a population, exactly? It can be many things! Populations may be defined as:

Patients cared for by a clinic, hospital or health system
Groups with the same health condition, such as people with diabetes, asthma, cancer, or high blood pressure
Health insurance beneficiaries who are enrolled in a particular type of health insurance, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, Cigna, etc.
Special groups like employees in a certain business or students in a particular school
Residents of a particular geographic area, such as a neighborhood, city, or state

Hospitals and Population Health

Traditionally, hospitals have been considered places to go when you have been diagnosed with an illness and receiving medical treatment, delivering a baby, or an emergency occurs. However, over the past 8 – 10 years, hospitals - and the healthcare systems they are a part of - have begun recognizing the importance of looking at population health. This means they are exploring the ways in which communities may be impacted not only by health issues but by the many variables that contribute to those health issues.

A Healthcare System is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers healthcare services to meet the health needs of target populations. It is most typically a group of healthcare organizations (e.g., physician practices, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare environments) that are jointly owned or managed.

In fact, hospitals have become acutely aware of the influences of social determinants of health – which we will discuss in our next module - and their contribution to poor health outcomes. Healthcare systems are increasingly expanding or developing new partnerships with community-based organizations to try and address the more challenging and systemic public health challenges, such as access to care, housing issues, food deserts, transportation issues, and others. In fact, this new emphasis on social determinants of health is expanding so quickly that the diagnostic codes for medical records, insurance, and billing have expanded to include a category called ‘Z-Codes’ so that circumstances such as lack of housing, food instability, etc. can be documented in medical records.

Almost universally, not-for-profit hospitals and health systems aim to improve communities' health and well-being. While many have adopted a population health focus, all hospitals and health systems do have community wellness efforts in place, through which varied community events and educational efforts may be facilitated. These might include diabetes or arthritis (or other chronic diseases) management programs, smoking cessation programs, health fairs, blood pressure screenings, skin cancer screenings, or other initiatives.

It should also be noted here that private practitioners also routinely participate in population health activities through the provision of immunizations and health screenings.

As a Health Services Corps Volunteer, if you are based in a healthcare system, you are encouraged to explore what types of community education and health promotion programs the hospital may offer so that you can share that information as the need arises!

What's the Difference Between Population Health and Public Health?

Population and public health share similar goals, tools and are generally complementary fields. Both fields aim to address the patient, provider, system and community factors that influence health, such as risk factors for disease, access to care, quality of care, and social determinants of health.

Public Health tends to be broader, more health policy-oriented, and 'community-engaged. It looks at what society can do collectively to assure that the conditions in which people live promote good health. Public health aims to protect and improve the health of the communities through policy recommendations, health education and outreach, enforcement of certain health-focused laws and ordinances, communicable disease prevention and investigation, and support of chronic disease management efforts. Public health activity is most typically driven by the interests of publicly-funded health departments (which are spear-headed by volunteer Boards of Health), philanthropic public health organizations, and schools of public health.

Population health, in contrast, is more health-system-engaged and targeted. Population health leverages certain clinical information about defined groups and relationships with providers, insurers, and employers to better target interventions. It is usually driven by the priorities of health systems, payors and employers.

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