Summary: Before shifting from a disease-focused to population health management (PHM) approach, healthcare organizations need to do their homework, advises Patricia Curran, principal in Buck Consultants' National Clinical Practice --- from researching the population's culture to examining its patterns of healthcare usage and cost trends. In this interview, Ms. Curran describes the four key research areas, as well as some of the barriers encountered along the road to population health management. She also predicts what the no- or low-health-risk populations can expect in a population health management world that spans the health risk continuum --- from incentives to provider and payor contact. Patricia Curran presented during "Population Health Management: Achieving Results in a Value-Based Healthcare System," a 45-minute webinar on September 26, 2012, during which she shared the types of population health management programs and how these programs can produce tangible results in terms of improved outcomes and costs savings.
