Population Health Management Platform Saves Money & Lives In The USA

The concept of Population Health Management (PHM) has gained traction among US healthcare professionals and policymakers in recent years. Many decision-makers believe that developing and sustaining multi-stakeholder collaboration, community engagement, and non-clinical initiatives, can save money while simultaneously saving lives.

What is Population Health Management (PHM)?

A Population Health Management Platform involves the process of collecting and analyzing medical data to identify and classify individuals into a group, to monitor and optimize patient care of that group. The objective is to enhance treatment outcomes for a group of patients and the provider's financial outcomes.

Closing care gaps, creating interventions, incentive programs, and taking other measures to improve individual health is part of PHM. The Population Health Management Platform brings optimal benefit to value-based care by transforming aggregated data to present a holistic patient image.

The patient portfolio helps healthcare providers, care managers, and physicians to address and detect treatment gaps in the patient population, allowing a healthcare organization to save money while improving patient outcomes.

The Role of Population Health Management in the United States

Although the United States spends far more on healthcare than other countries, its population health results are still not satisfying. Authorities have recommended keeping the primary focus on disease prevention. 

 North America is likely to lead the global population health management market due to the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, particularly among the elderly. Other variables that will contribute to domination will include supporting government policies and initiatives, and the presence of a well-established healthcare system. 

In addition to traditional prevention concepts such as vaccines and early screening, Population Health Management concentrates on Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), supporting healthy lifestyles and chronic condition management. An effective PHM is presumed to result in a healthier population, reduced healthcare expenditure, and cost savings.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has defined PHM’s clinical perspective as a collection of activities within the healthcare delivery system. The CMS also outlined PHM as a holistic approach that focuses on social services, such as guaranteeing appropriate shelter and food. Interventions that are targeted at certain vulnerable populations tend to have a more significant impact on health.

The health industry is working on diverse approaches to achieve care outcomes. According to a study of healthcare managers and physicians, significant clinical practice improvements to achieve population health include investing in behavioral health, using interdisciplinary teams, and building community connections.

Based on the assumption that PHM is a solution for managing growing healthcare costs, the connection between social determinant spending and cost reductions is uncertain.

Nevertheless, payers are switching towards quality-based contracting by acquiring providers and utilizing Population Health Management Solutions to assess potential cost savings throughout healthcare systems.