How population health management will deliver a sustainable NHS

How population health management will deliver a sustainable NHS

Part of our mission at GGI is to help boards have insight into the key strategic issues of the day. We have previously developed reports and assurance tools for boards on tele-healthcare, long-term conditions, and new care models. Population health management (PHM) has clearly become one such strategic issue and this is reflected in NHS England’s latest planning guidance for 2018/19.

Throughout 2017 and 2018, GGI teamed up with IBM Watson Health, a recognised global leader on population health management. GGI was approached by IBM Watson Health with a grant to develop an independent white paper for NHS boards on this topic.

The report presents the purpose and impact of developing a population health management approach, with examples of innovation from the US, before examining the outlook for NHS Boards and partners in developing this approach. This is supported by a set of recommendations for Boards, and a supporting maturity matrix for population health management addressing:

- Governance and decision making
- Technical preparedness
- Clinical transformation
- Funding, incentives and risk

We developed our thinking very much in collaboration with colleagues in the NHS and local government, using an advisory board and around 35 interviews with those informed on the potential of population health management, and those connected to boards who have no particular interest in the subject but who represent a typical range of board members and their advisers. The paper was further informed at a round table of NHS, local authority and policy leaders.

The practicalities of developing a population health management system, and utilising the matrix were further tested with live systems such as Bromley ICS, Buckinghamshire ICS, the Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge Provider Alliance, and the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Transformation Partnership.