From Volume- to Value-Based Care: Leading Population Health Initiatives

The evolution of traditional health care delivery from volume based to value centric has elevated population health to a level that has captured the attention of health care leaders. It is the term population health that stymies clinicians, academicians, policy makers, and consumers. They all struggle with a clear meaning or specific definition of the term. Further, those charged to deliver a program in their particular setting are uncertain of what population health is. Varyingly described, population health has many faces, including the health of populations, the distribution of health outcomes, and factors that influence the health of populations over a lifetime.