Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2015 - (Page 246)

P O P U L A T I O N H E A L T H Trending in 2015: Population Health David B. Nash, MD, dean, Jefferson School of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania I t has been many years, but it seems like only yesterday that a small band of colleagues and I were greeted with puzzled looks when we addressed audiences about "population health." Twenty years ago, even population health pioneers did not agree on a definition of the term, and beginning to reform our deplorably unintegrated and financially misaligned healthcare system was only a pipe dream. With the passage of key legislation promoting health information technology (HIT) and subsequent implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)-particularly its call for us to aggressively pursue population health-the stars began to align. My colleagues and I welcomed the ACA's endorsement of patient-centered medical homes and the introduction of accountable care organizations, both of which promote concepts that are essential to population health: multidisciplinary team approaches to better coordinate care in practices and among providers; affiliations and collective agreements among healthcare providers to be accountable for the health of defined populations; and care that is focused on engaging patients, preventing illness, and providing better quality. Even at this early stage, healthcare reform has triggered initiatives across the spectrum and, in doing so, has brought population health into the public consciousness. If this was the first article I read about population health, I would ask myself, "Where's the evidence?" Based on my penchant for keeping up with the relevant literature and my frequent interactions with health professional organizations, health systems, academic institutions, and healthcare technology innovators, below are a few reasons for my optimism. T H E E M E R G I N G C H I E F P O P U L AT I O N H E A LT H O F F I C E R Perhaps the strongest signal comes from my colleague, Rita Numerof, PhD, whose work has revealed the emergence of a new senior executive in the healthcare delivery system: chief population health officer (CPHO). On closer inspection, we find that this is not a new position but rather the result of a gradual evolution from the hospital-based medical director to the vice president for medical affairs to the CPHO. What does it take to be a CPHO? Job descriptions from executive recruiters and my colleagues at academic institutions and healthcare systems cross my desk regularly. Although the role is still being defined, every CPHO must be a strong leader and team builder who understands the process of organizational change and possesses the skills necessary for establishing external relationships and maintaining 246

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2015

Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2015
Contents
Interview With Mario J. Garner, EdD, FACHE, President and CEO of New Orleans East Hospital
Finding the Path to Innovation
Trending in 2015: Population Health
Nurse Against Nurse: Horizontal Bullying in the Nursing Profession
A Community Hospital–County Health Department Partnership to Reduce Preventable Readmissions: Lessons Learned for Population Health Management
Pay for Performance: Are Hospitals Becoming More Efficient in Improving Their Patient Experience?
Facilitating Implementation of Interprofessional Collaborative Practices Into Primary Care: A Trilogy of Driving Forces

Journal of Healthcare Management - July/August 2015