This piece in Healthcare Executive discusses “four imperatives” for population-health  management. Some excerpts:

Imperative 3: Experiment and Innovate

“Unlike the ‘tipping point’described by Malcolm Gladwell,  which happens quickly and is hard to prepare for because predictions are lacking, healthcare organizations have had ample forewarning of the basic trajectory of health system change. Organizations that use value-based payment and delivery models now, even on a limited scale as pilot tests, are better positioned for success as the delivery system continues its progress toward broad implementation of value-based care.”

“Proactive hospital and health system leaders are innovating, looking within and beyond healthcare for models that work.”

Imperative 4. Use Integrated Planning and a Blueprint for the PHM Journey

“Revisioning and redesigning an organization’s delivery system should be staged based on the entity’s unique market, capabilities, desired role and competitive factors.”

“Leadership must ensure that the foundational planning process is grounded in fact-based market, financial and clinical/quality realities, and the organization’s current and expected performance related to these realities. Certain organizations will be able to carve out a strategy to deliver only high-end acute-care services. But for most hospitals and health systems, an effective ambulatory and virtual strategy will be key to market relevance.”