Introduction to Population Health Management

Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the principles and purpose of Population Health Management.

• Understand the relationship between population need, health outcomes and inequalities.

• Recognise the importance of wider determinants when understanding populations.

• Understand how different sources of data and intelligence can contribute to PHM.

• Explain the principles of population segmentation and risk stratification.

• Understand the concept of impactability and its role in prioritising populations.

• Recognise how PHM can be used to move from identifying a problem towards designing an intervention.

• Understand the role of analytical and predictive approaches within PHM.

• Recognise the importance of selecting appropriate outcomes and measures.

• Understand how interventions can be evaluated and refined.

• Consider how PHM principles can be applied within their own organisation or population.

Training Methodology

The course combines tutor-led explanation with discussion, examples, case studies and practical exercises.

Participants will work through the Population Health Management process rather than considering individual techniques in isolation. Examples will be used to explore how population-level information can be translated into decisions about priorities, cohorts and interventions.

Practical activities will encourage participants to consider segmentation, risk and impactability and how different perspectives can lead to different interpretations of the same population. This reflects the approach in the existing PHM programme, where participants distinguish between segmentation, risk and impactability before considering which interventions should be prioritised. 

The course can be adapted to use examples relevant to the commissioning organisation, allowing participants to relate PHM principles to the populations and challenges they encounter in practice.

Organisational Impact

Population Health Management can help organisations move beyond reporting activity towards understanding why outcomes differ between populations and where intervention might make the greatest difference.

The course introduces a structured approach to bringing together data, professional knowledge and knowledge of populations to identify priorities. Participants will consider how segmentation and risk stratification can help identify groups with differing levels of need, while the concept of impactability introduces the additional question of where intervention is most likely to produce meaningful change.

The course also emphasises that identifying a population is only part of PHM. Intelligence needs to lead to action, and action needs to be evaluated. The wider PHM approach therefore connects problem definition, cohort identification, stakeholder involvement, intervention design, measurement, implementation and continuous improvement.

Personal Impact

Participants will develop a practical understanding of Population Health Management and greater confidence in contributing to PHM discussions and projects.

For analysts and information professionals, the course provides greater context for how analytical work can influence decisions, prioritisation and intervention design. For clinicians, managers, commissioners and other professionals, it provides an accessible understanding of the analytical approaches used within PHM and the questions they can help answer.

Participants will also be encouraged to think critically about what the data does and does not tell them. PHM involves combining analytical evidence with professional expertise, local knowledge and an understanding of practical circumstances, rather than assuming that data alone determines what should be done. This multidisciplinary approach is an important feature of the full programme.

Who Should Attend?

This introductory course is suitable for anyone who contributes to understanding populations, planning services, improving outcomes or making decisions about the allocation of resources, including:

• Analysts and business intelligence professionals

• Public health professionals

• Clinicians and healthcare professionals

• Commissioners

• Service managers

• Integrated care and system teams

• Local authority staff

• Strategy and planning teams

• Improvement professionals

• Researchers

• Programme and project staff

• Professionals working with communities and population groups

The course is particularly suitable for participants who are relatively new to Population Health Management or who work alongside PHM teams and want a broader understanding of the principles and terminology involved.

Course Outline

The course will explore areas including:

• Principles and purpose of Population Health Management

• Understanding populations and population health needs

• Health inequalities and wider determinants

• The role of data and intelligence

• Population segmentation

• Risk stratification and impactability

• Identifying and prioritising population groups

• Translating intelligence into action

• Designing interventions

• Introduction to analytical and predictive approaches

• Outcomes and outcome measurement

• Evaluating impact

• Continuous improvement and learning

• Partnership and multidisciplinary working

• Applying PHM within different settings

• Practical application through examples, discussion and exercises

Duration:

1 day

For organisations requiring greater depth, a three-day Population Health Management course is also available. This explores the analytical and practical elements of PHM in considerably greater detail, including cohort development, predictive approaches, outcome measurement, intervention design and evaluation.

Pre-requisites:

No previous statistical or analytical training is required. The course introduces relevant analytical concepts from the perspective of their purpose, interpretation and application, rather than concentrating on statistical calculation.