How do you align population health goals with financial incentives?

1 Assess your population health needs

The first step to aligning population health goals with financial incentives is to assess the needs and characteristics of your target population. This involves collecting and analyzing data on their demographics, health status, risk factors, utilization patterns, preferences, and social determinants of health. You can use various tools and frameworks, such as the Population Health Assessment Tool (PHAT), the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), or the Population Health Management Maturity Model (PHM3), to conduct a comprehensive and systematic assessment. By understanding your population health needs, you can identify the gaps and opportunities for improvement, prioritize your interventions, and set measurable and realistic goals.

2 Choose the right payment model

The next step is to choose the right payment model that aligns with your population health goals and incentivizes value-based care. There are different types of payment models that can support population health, such as fee-for-service, capitation, bundled payments, shared savings, or global budgets. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on your organization's size, structure, capabilities, and risk appetite. You should consider factors such as the alignment of incentives, the level of accountability, the distribution of risk, the potential for savings, and the quality of care when selecting the payment model that best suits your population health strategy.

3 Implement population health interventions

Once you have chosen the payment model that aligns with your population health goals, you need to implement the interventions that will improve the health outcomes and well-being of your target population. These interventions can range from preventive and wellness programs, to chronic disease management, to care coordination and integration, to community engagement and outreach. You should design your interventions based on the evidence-based practices and guidelines, the best available data, and the input from your stakeholders. You should also monitor and evaluate your interventions regularly, using quality indicators, performance measures, and feedback mechanisms, to ensure that they are effective, efficient, and equitable.