Measurement of health and health care is complex. In April of 2015, the Institute of Medicine released a report proposing a four-domain framework. ICSI sees an opportunity for communities to establish their own Triple Aim goals and become Accountable Health Communities capable of balancing their investments in both health care and the social determinants of health.

A number of ICSI member organizations have been exploring ways to identify global health measurements of value to providers, patients and communities, which is critical to creating sustainable local health systems and advancing Triple Aim goals. Read our white paper: Measuring Health in Minnesota: Importance, Challenges and Future Directions.

As follow-up to these collaborative conversations, ICSI convened a discussion in mid-2015 with member organizations, MN Community Measurement and other stakeholders to further consider a framework for population health measurement. In August 2016, we facilitated a third conversation with members and other stakeholders around population health activities and related measurement.

The primary objectives of this recent conversation were to learn about organizations’ current population health activities, share how representative organizations are thinking about population health measurement, and discuss and consider population health activities within the context of shifting from volume to value. The following organizations were represented at the meeting: Allina Health, HealthEast, CentraCare, Fairview Health Services, University of Minnesota Physicians, North Memorial, HealthPartners, Medica Research Institute, Departments of Human Services and Health, and Minnesota Community Measurement.

Participants reported using various measures to measure the health of populations they serve, including PROMIS 10, BMI, blood pressure, tobacco, well-being and quality of life. Additional topics of discussion included understanding risk and risk stratification of patients, identification of high utilizer patients, measuring employee health, collecting and linking social determinants of health data, understanding adverse childhood event data, using geo-mapping tools to map population health data by neighborhood, interoperability standards for meaningful use, etc.

For more information about ICSI’s work in this area or to join in any future conversations, please contact Senka Hadzic at 952-814-7065

Updated 10/11/16