As part of the Foundation’s signature Population Health initiative, RCHN CHF collaborated with project grantees to co-design a learning collaborative and to share information among grantees and their partners. Learning sessions focused on approaches to deepen and strengthen health center operational and clinical capacity, develop partnerships, and enhance the potential for sustainability. Through regular learning community interactions, participants shared their experience in implementing a diverse set of interventions and learned from each other and expert faculty. The resources and tools identified throughout the learning collaborative may be useful to other health center organizations in their journey to improve population health and are presented here in the spirit of collaboration and expanding general knowledge. The resources are grouped to reflect major categories  – Environmental Drivers, Steps to Population Health, and Process Outcomes –  that are relevant  for all  health center population health management work regardless of the target population identified for interventions.
 
 
ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS STEPS TO POPULATION HEALTH PROCESS OUTCOMES
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Patient Identification, Assessment, Stratification
  • Person-Centered Care Design and Processes
  • Partnerships & Multi-Stakeholder Collaboratives/Coalitions
  • Patient Engagement
  • Quality Improvement
  • Policy
  • Health Information Technology and Data Analysis
  • Project Evaluation
  • Payment
 
  • Community-Level Population Health Management
 
This page will be updated periodically as new resources are added.
 
 
 

ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVERS

Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)
In describing Social Determinants of Health, the World Health Organization writes: “The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities – the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.”  Improving population health requires that requires that the social, cultural, and economic forces that impact health status be assessed and addressed through community-level action. 

  • The Essential Needs Roadmap (Health Leads, 2018)
  • Community Health Centers Leveraging the Social Determinants of Health (Institute for Alternative Futures, March 2012)
  • Medical-Legal Partnership and Health Centers: Addressing Patients’ Health-Harming Civil Legal Needs as Part of Primary Care (Marsha Regenstein, Joel Teitelbaum, Jessica Sharac & Ei Phyu, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, February 2015)
  • Collecting Social Determinants of Health Data in the Clinical Setting: Findings from National PRAPARE Implementation (Rosy Chang Weir, Michelle Proser, Michelle Jester, Vivian Li, Carlyn M. Hood-Ronick, Deborah Gurewich. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Volume 31, Number 2, May 2020, pp. 1018-1035. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2020.0075)
  • Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patient Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE)
  • Social Determinants of Health Needs Assessment Survey and Staff Assessment (Colorado Community Health Network. 2015)
  • Policy Reports: An Overview of Food Insecurity Coding in Health Care Settings: Existing and Emerging Opportunities (Hunger Vital Sign National Community of Practice. January 2018)
  • A New Way to Talk about the Social Determinants of Health (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Carger E., and Westen D., January 1, 2010).
  • Quantifying Health Systems’ Investment In Social Determinants Of Health, By Sector, 2017–19 (Horwitz, L. I., Chang, C., Arcilla, H. N., & Knickman, J. R. (2020). Health Affairs, 39(2), 192–198. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01246).
  • Impact of Social Factors on Hospital Readmissions at Massachusetts’ Two Largest Safety Net Hospitals After State Health Reform (Danny McCormick, Srini Rao, Nancy Kressin, Rich Balaban, Leah Zallman, Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved, 2019;30(4):1467-1485 November 2019 doi: 10.1353/hpu.2019.0092) (Abstract only).
 
 

Partnerships & Multi-Stakeholder Collaboratives/Coalitions
Effective population health management requires local and regional partnerships that support coordination or integration of services, information sharing, leveraging resources, and raising awareness and participation at the community level.

  • PDF file downloads or opens in a new window> Puerto Rico PCA 4-Part Learning Conversation Series – ASPPR Covid-19 Best/Promising Practices. (Issued by Asociacion de Salud Primaria de Puerto Rico)
  • Partnership Assessment Tool for Health (Developed by Partnership for Healthy Outcomes, 2017)
  • Multistakeholder Input on a National Priority: Improving Population Health by Working with Communities – Action Guide 2.0 (National Quality Forum. June 2015)
  • Working Together, Moving Ahead: A Manual to Support Effective Community Health Coalitions (Shoshanna Sofaer, Dr.P.H. School of Public Affairs, Baruch College. 2001)
  • A Standard Framework for Levels of Integrated Healthcare: (SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions. March 2013)
  • Integrated Practice Assessment Tool (IPAT) (Colorado Access, ValueOptions, Axis Health System. 2014)
  • The Integrated Health Home Journey – White Paper (ACCESS IHH Steering Committee: Access Community Health Network, Catholic Charities, Gateway Foundation, Sinai Health System, and Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare. September 2020)
 
 

Policy
Local, state and federal health laws and regulations may help support population health by assuring access to health care and needed services, strengthening the economic health of communities, and encouraging collaboration among different health related organizations, and supporting expanded roles for health care professionals.

  • Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative Policy Brief Series (2008-present)
  • The Economic and Employment Consequences of Repealing Federal Health Reform: A Fifty State Analysis. (Milken Institute School of Public Health, the George Washington University. January 2017)
  • Repealing Federal Health Reform: Economic and Employment Consequences for States (The Commonwealth Fund. January 2017)
  • Related Interactive Map: The Impact of the American Health Care Act on Employment (The Commonwealth Fund. 2017)
 
 
 

Payment
The ongoing operation and sustainability of population health strategies rests upon both strong business models and appropriate reimbursement. Community health centers represent one of the principal sources for care for the nation’s Medicaid population, and an understanding of the enduring and interdependent relationship with Medicaid is essential, as is appreciation of the opportunities for transformation through payment reform.

 
Related resources: Quality Payment Program: Patient Relationship Categories and Codes (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, February 2018) in Patient Identification, Assessment, Stratification
 
 

STEPS TO POPULATION HEALTH

Patient Identification, Assessment, Stratification
Identifying the target population, assessing need, and stratifying the community based on risk are essential to developing effective population health improvement strategies.  This effort requires both solid data, and the use of patient- and community-focused decision support tools.  

 
  • Screening, Brief Interventions, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
  • The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
  • Short Form Health Survey SF-20

  • Quality Payment Program: Patient Relationship Categories and Codes (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, February 2018)

 
Related resources: Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patient Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) and Social Determinants of Health Needs Assessment Survey and Staff Assessment (Colorado Community Health Network. 2015) in Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)
 
 
 

Patient Engagement
Successful population health management, at the patient or the community levels, requires that individuals have the capacity to understand and participate in improving their health and preserving their wellness.

  • Patient Engagement in Redesigning Care Toolkit – Version 2.0 (Davis S, Gaines ME, Pandhi N. Center for Patient Partnerships, UW Health, Primary Care Academics Transforming Healthcare, and UW Health Innovation Program; 2017)
  • Working With Patients and Families as Advisors (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. June 2013)
  • Quitting Smoking is Hard, But You Can Do It! (Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. 2016)
 
 

Health Information Technology and Data Analytics
To support informed population health-oriented decision making at the practice and organizational levels, timely and accurate data, actionable information and a capacity to analyze and share it are essential.  

  • Information Technology and Data in Healthcare: Using and Understanding Data (David Hartzband, David. HIMSS Book Series. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group. 2020)
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Auto-Indexing in Healthcare (RCHN CHF. July 2016)
  • Understanding Data as an Asset – It’s a Necessity, Not a Luxury (Community Health Forum. Summer/Fall 2016)
  • Deployment of Analytics into the Healthcare Safety Net: Lessons Learned (Hartzband, D., & Jacobs, F. (2016). Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 8(3): e203. doi: 10.5210/ojphi.v8i3.7000)
  • Compendium of Resources for Standardized Demographic and Language Data Collection (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, March 2017)
 
 

PROCESS OUTCOMES

Person-Centered Care Design and Processes
In order to improve population health outcomes, the way care is delivered and the experience it creates for patients and families must be assessed and often transformed to achieve improvement.

  • Ensuring Sustained Access to Telehealth Post Pandemic: Patient and Provider Attitudes and Beliefs Support Use of Remote Care (Community Health Care Association of New York State. January 25, 2021)
  • Integrating Behavioral Health into Medicaid Managed Care: Design and Implementation Lessons from State Innovators (Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc., Michelle Herman Soper, April 2016)
  • Cambridge Health Alliance Model of Team-Based Care Implementation Guide and Toolkit (Cambridge Health Alliance)
  • Building Integrated Care: Lessons from the UK and elsewhere (Naomi Fulop and Alice Mowlem, King’s College London. Nigel Edwards, NHS Confederation, November, 2008)
  • Organized, Evidence-Based Care: Behavioral Health Integration – Implementation Guide Supplement (Safety Net Medical Home Initiative. October 2014)
  • Continuous and Team-Based Healing Relationships – Improving Patient Care Through Teams (Safety Net Medical Home Initiative. May 2013)
  • New Models of Primary Care Workforce and Financing (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ]. October 2016)
  • Integration of collaborative medication therapy management in a safety net patient-centered medical home (Moczygemba, L. R., Goode, J. V., Gatewood, S. B., Osborn, R. D., Alexander, A. J., Kennedy, A. K., Stevens, L. P., & Matzke, G. R. (2011). Journal of the American Pharmacists Association: JAPhA, 51(2), 167–172. doi: 10.1331/JAPhA.2011.10191)
  • Models of Care for High-Need, High-Cost Patients: An Evidence Synthesis (The Commonwealth Fund. October 2015)
  • Advancing Quality Family Planning Practices: A Guide for Health Centers (The National Association of Community Health Centers. April 2017)
  • Asthma Community Network – Communities in Action
  • Effectiveness of Evidence-Based Asthma Interventions (Pediatrics. May 2017)
  • Key Levers for Advancing Physical-Behavioral Health Care Integration at the Practice Level through Integrated Medicaid Managed Care [Infographic] (Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. July 2019)

Related resource: Core Competencies for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care (SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions, January 2014) in Quality Improvement and The Integrated Health Home Journey – White Paper (ACCESS IHH Steering Committee: Access Community Health Network, Catholic Charities, Gateway Foundation, Sinai Health System, and Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare. September 2020) in Partnerships & Multi-stakeholder Collaboratives/Coalitions.

Additional web resources:

 
 

Quality Improvement
Population health improvement strategies are both essential to practice transformation, and driven by the need to transform care and improve quality while strengthening capacity for sustainability.

 
  • The Core Quality Measures Collaborative
  • The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Improvement Capability Self-Assessment Tool (2010)
  • Core Competencies for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care (SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions, January 2014)
  • Guide to Reducing Disparities in Readmissions (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, revised August, 2018)
  • Health Care Hotspotting — A Randomized, Controlled Trial (Finkelstein, A., Zhou, A., Taubman, S., & Doyle, J. (2020). New England Journal of Medicine, 382(2), 152–162. doi: 10.1056/nejmsa1906848) (Abstract only)
  • Understanding A3 Thinking (Prentice Hall, Durward K. Sobek II, Art Smalley, 2015)
  • Developing Lean Leaders at all Levels: A Practical Guide (Lean Leadership Institute Publications, Jeffrey Liker, 2015)

Additional Item of Interest re: Lean: Creating a Lean Culture: Tools for Sustaining Lean Conversions (Routledge, David Mann, 2014)

Related resources: Patient Engagement in Redesigning Care Toolkit – Version 2.0 (Davis S, Gaines ME, Pandhi N. Center for Patient Partnerships, UW Health, Primary Care Academics Transforming Healthcare, and UW Health Innovation Program; 2017) in Patient Engagement, Compendium of Resources for Standardized Demographic and Language Data Collection (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, March 2017) in Health Information Technology and Data Analytics, The Value Transformation Framework: An Approach to Value-Based Care in Federally Qualified Health (Modica, Cheryl, Journal of Healthcare Quality January 30, 2020 doi: 10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000239) in Payment, and Impact of Social Factors on Hospital Readmissions at Massachusetts’ Two Largest Safety Net Hospitals After State Health Reform (Danny McCormick, Srini Rao, Nancy Kressin, Rich Balaban, Leah Zallman, Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved, 2019;30(4):1467-1485 November 2019 doi: 10.1353/hpu.2019.0092) in Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)

The objective of evaluation is to facilitate learning that will help inform modifications or improvements to a given strategy, initiative or program. Evaluation can be used to document a program’s effectiveness and impact by assessing quality, cost, and outcomes or to identify areas for improvement by gathering information throughout program implementation to determine if program objectives are being met. Evaluation strategies should be identified early, during the program planning phase, to clarify and guide implementation.

  • Developing an Effective Evaluation Plan (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. 2011)
  • The Step-by-Step Guide to Evaluation: How to Become Savvy Evaluation Consumers (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, November 2017)
  • Using Logic Models to Bring Together Planning, Evaluation, and Action: Logic Model Development Guide (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 1998, Updated 2004)
 
 

Community-Level Population Health Management
Population health management encompasses initiatives focused on improving outcomes for a defined population in a community or geographic region, rather than those strictly limited to health center or facility-specific patients and families. These resources describe such community-focused, equity-oriented efforts and provide tools, ideas and strategies that may be adapted to address local conditions.

 
  • New York Community Health Centers’ Population Health Activities: Findings from a Statewide Assessment (Haley, S. J., & Barnes, J. (2017). Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 28(2), 677–693. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2017.0067) (Abstract only)
  • Pathways Community HUB Manual: A Guide to Identify and Address Risk Factors, Reduce Costs, and Improve Outcomes (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. January 2016)
  • St. Louis Integrated Health Network
  • Smoking Cessation – Integrating Tobacco-Dependency Treatment Interventions with Primary Care (Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. August 2016)
Related resources: Multi-stakeholder Input on a National Priority: Improving Population Health by Working with Communities— Action Guide 2.0 (National Quality Forum. June 2015) in Partnerships & multi-stakeholder collaboratives/coalitions