WIHI: Strategic Pathways to Population Health

• Saranya Loehrer, MD, MPH, Head of the North America Region, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
• Christina Lundquist, BA, MHS, Vice President of Operations, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and MacDonald Women's Hospital at University Hospitals (UH) Health System
• Lora Council, MD, MPH, Senior Medical Director for Primary Care, Cambridge Health Alliance ​

 

Health systems face numerous challenges in their efforts to improve population health. Among them, multiple entry points, such as initiating better care management for all patients with chronic asthma, widespread depression screening, or working with the community to address food insecurity. Each initiative is valuable yet, taken together, don't necessarily add up to a comprehensive population health strategy. Is there a logic to what to do first, then second, and so on? How do you know you're on the right track?

 

There are no simple answers, but there has been enough experience with population health in the US and elsewhere that several groups, including IHI, have come up with four portfolios of work to help organizations become more strategic about their efforts. With the help of new resources​, we discussed these four "pathways" and with two health systems that are deeply engaged in improving population health on the June 7 episode of WIHI: Strategic Pathways to Population Health.