PAM 5280

Population Health for Health Managers

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2018-2019.

Population health focuses on the health and well‐being of entire populations. Populations may be geographically defined, such as neighborhoods or counties; may be based on groups of individuals who share common characteristics such as age, race‐ethnicity, disease status, or socioeconomic status; or may be "attributed" to accountable healthcare organizations using a variety of methods. With roots in epidemiology, public health, and demography, a key component of population health is the focus on the social determinants of health and collaborative, holistic, patient‐centered and coordinated care to improve population health, identify and reduce health disparities, improve healthcare quality, and reduce healthcare costs. Given the shifting health care environment – from fee‐for‐service to value‐based care – healthcare managers who are able to apply tools to measure, analyze, evaluate and improve population health (one aim of IHI's Triple Aim) will be well‐positioned for positions in health care as the field continues to evolve.

When Offered Spring.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: graduate students.
Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: PAM 5679 or equivalent.
Forbidden Overlaps Forbidden Overlap: due to an overlap in content, students will receive credit for only one course in the following group: DSOC 3280, PAM 3280, PAM 5280.

Course Attribute (CU-CEL)

• Describe basic demographic and health trends, including leading causes of death and morbidity, and understand their contribution to healthcare delivery and utilization.
• Calculate and use for decision‐making, relevant population health metrics including but not limited to incidence, prevalence, quality of life, functional status/disability, wellbeing, life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, morbidity and mortality, and health behaviors.
• Leverage descriptive social epidemiology and statistical tools and demographic models to assess population health, identify health disparities, determine intervention points, and recommend effective program and policy decisions.
• Recommend key population health management practices (i.e., care coordination, patient‐centered and holistic care, clinical integration, patient engagement, cross‐sector collaboration, risk sharing) and key population health structures (e.g., medical homes) to improve health.
• Identify and measure the social determinants of health and health disparities within and across populations.
• Synthesize the hierarchy of research evidence in management to make valid program and policy decisions.
• Work effectively in diverse groups to produce effective in‐class assignments and useful discussions.

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