Abstract
Short introduction/background: Population health management has emerged as a new buzz word to drive system reform but does it add anything to our understanding or is it just integrated care rejigged?
Context and problem statement: The predecessor of IFIC was founded in 2000, and since that date the network advocating for Integrated Care has grown to a global movement for change. In recent years the concept of Population Health Management has come up using similar terminology and aspiring to well-known outcomes. As both concepts continue to gain traction with policy makers and practitioners, the question of similarity and differences between these two concepts has come up in research and practice. Are integrated care and PHM just synonyms for the same underlying approach, or are they fundamentally different? Is PHM a tool to implement integrated care or rather integrated care 2.0? For both terms, there are several theoretical definitions and a plethora of implementation frameworks. PHM proponents argue that the novelty lies in the consistent use of data and the inclusion of social determinants of health, while integrated care is confined to the health system. In practice, both approaches use the same tools and encounter similar challenges. True integration or population health remains elusive. We do not really know how to define and operationalize either. And thus, we don’t know what the commonalities and differences are between the concepts. But does this have consequences? Are we truly implementing integrated care, are we really serving the priority populations?
Target audience: Researchers, practitiones and policymakers who want to gain a better understanding of the two concepts, their similarities and differences.
Workshop structure: In this workshop we want to explore the commonalities and differences of PHM and IC. After a short overview of the two terms by experienced advocates for Integrated Care and Population Health Management (10 minutes), we will explore the concepts more thoroughly using a modified Oxford Debate format. This involves short statements to argue either for integrated care or for PHM. The participants of the workshop will then be invited to choose which arguments are more convincing (by physically choosing sides) and join the discussion (40 minutes). The debate will be lead by a neutral facilitator. At the end of the workshop the participants are going to rank the discussed aspects of PHM and IC on a scale of commonality to difference (Mentimeter).
Outcomes: The results will be published as a perspective paper or a blog by the workshop chairs.