Population Health Program

Population health has been defined as the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.  It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire human population as opposed to concentrating on just individual patients.

This course is designed to provide students with a contextual understanding of the reasons for a renewed focus on population health as a clinical-care delivery model. The course prepares students to become active participants and leaders of new healthcare approaches that leverage the broad set of strategies and interventions known as “population health management.” Population Health training is of particular importance to integrated health systems, primary care physician offices, and registered nurses.

Major topics to be covered include: 

  • The Affordable Care Act
  • Triple Aim
  • New and emerging legislation driving adoption of population health
  • Agencies focused on promotion of population health
  • Healthcare financing’s roles to incentivize population health management
  • Implementation of population health management

Students will be able to compare and contrast population and public health; define the scope of ‘population’ in population health management; understand the role of payer, provider and patient in population health management; and determine goals of population health improvement and management.

Course Objectives

  • To understand population health management as a care delivery model
  • To understand how new healthcare financing models are driving a population health focus within the care delivery system
  • To formulate population-health–focused care delivery models
  • To identify changes that will be essential in the management of the participant’s own areas of accountability as population health is implemented

 Course Outline

  • Overview of U.S. health system
  • Concepts of population health
  • Achieving the Triple Aim
  • Healthcare financing role to incentivize population health
  • Organization governance and leadership
  • Provider engagement and organizational transformation
  • Quality outcomes for value-based reimbursement
  • Role of community and social determinates of health
  • Use of technology in population health
  • Delivery system interventions and transformation for population health
  • Overcoming challenges of population health transformation
  • Emerging research/research agenda in population health

This course will be provided in two 8-hour days and one 4-hour day, for a total of 20 hours (2.0 CEUs).

This program can be customized for local organizations upon request.

To register or for more information, contact Continuing Education at 570-268-7778 or [email protected].