Population Health
Advancing Population Health at Scale
Helping health systems move beyond reactive care toward proactive population health improvement. Health systems and care organizations worldwide face a common and pressing challenge: how to move beyond reactive care and toward proactively managing the health of entire populations.
The consequences of not making that shift are measurable — unwarranted variation in outcomes, persistent inequities, and unsustainable costs that strain even well-resourced systems. When a specific subpopulation has significantly worse outcomes, it signals a breakdown in the system — and identifies where improvement efforts must be directed.
This is where IHI comes in. IHI works with health systems, government agencies, payers, community-based organizations, and health and healthcare leaders and professionals worldwide to design and execute population health strategies that close gaps in outcomes and quality. Guided by the Quintuple Aim, IHI offers expert consulting services that empower organizations with the tools, knowledge, and capability to simultaneously achieve: better population health, better experience of care, more value for health systems, workforce well-being and equitable outcomes at scale.
Patrícia Loggetto
MPP Project Coordinator, Central & South America Regional Program Dept of Global Pediatric Medicine St. Jude Global
MPP Project Coordinator, Central & South America Regional Program Dept of Global Pediatric Medicine St. Jude Global
"The team at IHI was very responsive and willing to co-design with us. The sessions were very well executed, with relevant content, and were always ready to support the teams participating in the course. The coaches’ didact was excellent, and they were very empathic, creating important connections with the teams."
Prioritizing Population Health Improvement
Helping organizations move from reactive care toward proactive, equitable, population-level improvement.
Effective population health improvement not only demands that we address inequities; it requires new care models and targeted approaches to quality improvement. It also requires understanding a distinction that shapes strategy: the difference between population health and population management (or, population medicine). Population health addresses the broader determinants of health — social, environmental, behavioral, and systemic factors that influence outcomes across communities. Population medicine, by contrast, focuses on the design, delivery, coordination, and payment of high-quality health care services for a defined population, using the best resources available within the system.
IHI population health consulting work supports organizations to:
- Improve outcomes across populations
- Address social drivers of health
- Advance coordinated, data-driven care
- Build sustainable data capability
What This Looks Like in Practice
Publications, Tools & Insights
Explore frameworks, case studies, and practical resources supporting population health improvement.
Case Studies
Tools & Frameworks
Insights & Publications
Ready to Improve Population Health Outcomes?
Contact IHI consultants for assistance in designing and implementing strategies that improve outcomes, advance equity, and optimize resources for quality care. From system-wide transformation initiatives to targeted operational improvements, IHI partners with organizations to strengthen care delivery, improve patient and workforce experiences, and build sustainable capabilities for long-term impact.
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