Population Health Isn ’ t Working Out Quite the Way They Said It Would. What ’ s Going On?

By HILARY HATCH I hate shots.  Every year when flu season rolls around, I think, “what’s in it for me?” The answer is, “it isn’t for me. It’s for the herd.” I am young and healthy enough that I am unlikely to die of the flu but I have children, older people and vulnerable patients I care about it, so I get a flu shot every year. This is true population health. I get a flu shot for the benefit of others. Population health has been extended to a much larger set of activities that have no communal benefit. One patient with diabetes doesn’t benefit from another getting a foot exam. (Mammograms, colonoscopies, no communal benefit. STD screening, on the other hand, fits in the category of true population health.) This distinction matters. Here’s why: People are keenly aware of being told to do things that aren’t for their personal benefit. People reject recommendations that don’t match their health needs. People are much more likely to follow recommendations from people they trust.  Points 1 & 2 above undermine trust. Lively discussion with my fellow panelists at upcoming HIMSS17 panel on consumer engagement highlighted my own misgivings about the absence of the patient’s individuality and voice in population health efforts. We all want better health in the population, but are we going about it in the right way? Population health puts people into categories by conditions (diabetes, hypertension, depression), age, lab results and medical billing data....
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs