Constituents of population health
Population health is a complex term that refers to the health outcomes distributed among the nation. This definition is used to develop governmental health policy and execute healthcare management. To measure the distribution of health outcomes, such measures as mortality, morbidity, and life quality, are used. Such determinants as medical care, social factors, and individual genetics influence the distribution. At the same time, policies and interventions influence these determinants (Jefferson College of Population Health, 2014).
In the field of population health, some vital discussions are currently going on. One of them is related to the intersection between health information exchange (HIE) and population health management. HIE is the idea of the exchange of patient-related information between various healthcare organizations. HIE would help to perform population health management more effectively: with such an amount of data, healthcare managers would be able to produce better solutions to health problems. However, many thinkers consider that HIE is a breach of a patient’s privacy rights. This contradiction makes the intersection critical in the healthcare arena (Vest & Gamm, 2010).
In today’s healthcare industry, population health is a driving force. The current problem of the healthcare industry is that it is unable to perform a comprehensive effort that would influence all the determinants that influence people’s health. As it was stated above, the definition of population health recognizes the influence of determinants, such as social factors, on health. The adoption of this definition would allow the industry to perform such an effort (Gamble, 2014).
The discussion over population health is ardent, and I am willing to make a contribution to it using my professional experience. My experience as a nurse would help to increase the accessibility of knowledge and promote healthy behaviors.
The nation’s strategy for population health
Goal 2 of the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020 focuses on the improvement of healthcare delivery about community health. The Goal emphasizes such aspects as the adoption of IT to improve healthcare delivery, encouraging healthcare providers to cooperate and with the government, and expanding the ability of the community support to use IT to promote public health (ONC, 2015, p. 36-38).
In my opinion, the Strategic Plan enforces the population health agenda. The Plan is based on a premise that governmental management can influence the determinants that influence the health outcomes of the population, primarily the medical care determinant and, partially, the social factors determinant. Governmental management consists of policies and interventions that affect determinants. Such an assumption is consistent with the definition of population health.
In my analysis, the most successful strategies would be Strategy 3 from Objective 2B and Strategy 1 from Objective 2C that focus on the expansion of the use of IT by community healthcare providers to improve health outcomes. These strategies will help to increase public awareness of health threats and create a consolidated community effort to improve health outcomes.
Goal 2 demonstrates how HIE and population health management intersect. The Goal’s Strategies present the solutions for various problems of public health outcomes with the help of information exchange. The Goal promotes the exchange of information between public and private healthcare providers and providers and the population. It encourages using IT to influence social determinants.
My professional experience can help me to make a valuable contribution to the discussion. It would allow me to increase the IT literacy in healthcare and educate the population about health threats.
References
Jefferson College of Population Health. (2014). Connect ourselves and our communities: David Nash full presentation. Web.
Gamble, M. (2014). Population health: Why the hottest term in healthcare is getting problematic. Hospital Review. Web.
ONC. (2015). Federal health IT strategic plan 2015-2020. Web.
Vest, J.R., & Gamm, L.D. (2010). Health information exchange: persistent challenges and new strategies. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 17(3), 288-294.