The Role of Small and Rural Hospitals and Care Systems in Effective Population Health Partners

Resources: For information related to health care delivery transformation, visit www.hpoe.org. publication may be reproduced and distributed in any form without permission of the publisher, or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content, except in the case of brief quotations followed by the above suggested citation. To request permission to reproduce any of these materials, please email [email protected]. Executive Summary Rising health care costs and greater demand for quality outcomes have led to a shift toward value-based payment models focused on better population health management. These market dynamics, along with new care delivery models and payment reform, are challenging hospitals and health care systems to develop population health approaches focused on prevention, improved chronic disease management and wellness activities. Hospitals and care systems that engage the community prepare themselves to meet these opportunities. Each type of hospital or care system—academic medical center, integrated health system, independent hospital, and small and rural hospital—engages the local community by providing resources, sharing knowledge and developing relationships and skills to manage its challenges and leverage its advantages. To become an effective population health manager, a hospital must create effective partnerships. This guide describes how small and rural hospitals and care systems can develop effective population health partnerships that balance the challenges and opportunities encountered in providing health management. Hospitals and care systems can use one of several types of partnerships, as described in Figure 1. 1 Additionally, by using a checklist and a defined framework for population health partnerships, small and rural hospitals and care systems can work to form strong, well-structured relationships with community partners (see Figures 2 and 3). Exchanging information and altering activities for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose Exchanging information, altering activities and sharing resources for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose Exchanging information, altering activities, sharing resources and enhancing the capacity of another for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose All primary and secondary partners have developed a decision-making model (committee structure, board, coalition and community infrastructure). Agreement has included representation and composition of leadership and governance group. Specific partner skills and competencies are aligned to the roles and responsibilities in the decision-making process. Partners have agreed on the program's mission and vision. Partners have identified all anticipated resources required for the program in the agreement and have developed a process to identify future resources. Specific partner-related …