All systems are a go for the program, “Innovation in Resource Allocation: Population Health Management Strategies to Recover Losses and Accelerate Gains,” which will take place on April 12-13 at the Top of the Hill on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. And if you prefer not to travel, the Summit will still be a hybrid event, so you can participate virtually if you rather—so there's no reason at all to miss out.

The thought-leadership event features inspiring keynotes from a slate of featured speakers, including Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Sandro Galea, Dean of Boston University School of Health, as well as compelling panel discussions and sessions taking on pertinent topics of the day, such as:

As 2021 begins to come to a close—and if you still have funds available—you may wish to allocate the registration cost to this year’s budget instead of next, all while taking advantage of the early bird discounted rate.

For years, PHA has long recognized the impact that Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) have had—and still are having—on the rising costs of healthcare, and more importantly, the overall health of Americans. In efforts to first highlight the issue's importance and to seek solutions to address the matter, the PHA Quality and Research Committee first published, “Taking Action on Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities,“ a well-received whitepaper distributed to the membership and the partner community in March of 2018.

As overall health equality and SDOH issues are still in the forefront of PHA's focus, PHA decided to take the opportunity to distribute this pivotal action-oriented whitepaper beyond its membership to the healthcare community at large. The rerelease includes a new preface from PHA Chairman Emeritus Rose Maljanian, Chairman & CEO of HealthCAWS, addressing the current landscape as many organizations and individuals are still struggling with unmet needs in the aftermath of COVID.

In addition, PHA will soon begin publishing a series of new issue briefs pertaining to the current state of SDOH, Health Equity, Behavioral Health, Innovative Approaches to Care Management, and other pertinent topics. "PHA always has, and always will, keep consumer needs the focus of every dialogue, educational session, quality and research efforts, and advocacy positions," Ms. Maljanian writes.

Click on the below button to download the rerelease of the whitepaper, and watch for more details coming soon on the new PHA SDOH Issue Brief, the first in a series of PHA Issue Briefs addressing the topics most pressing to our members and the industry.

PHC4, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, is an independent state agency formed under Pennsylvania statute in order to address rapidly growing health care costs. The Council's strategy to contain costs is to stimulate competition in the health care market by:

MetroHealth DC is a not-for-profit health clinic offering multidisciplinary and integrated medical, behavioral and nutritional healthcare in Washington, DC. MetroHealth DC strives to build healthier communities, one person at a time, by joyfully providing high-quality health services with a commitment to excellence.

We welcome MetroHealth DC to PHA led by its CEO, Miguel McInnis.

In Washington, DC, Ascension Providence Urgent Care offers express care for minor illness and injury. Providence offers varied services such as treatment for allergies, fever, ear or eye infections, severe sore throat and cough, and sinus or upper respiratory infections. They also provide comprehensive clinical laboratory testing. Providence is part of Ascension, a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care.

Latriece Prince-Wheeler is Providence Health System's Executive Director and COO-AMG. We're happy they are now a part of PHA.

Earlier this week, PHA submitted its response to a request for information (RFI) to the Senate Finance Committee seeking thoughts and insights on improving mental and behavioral health services post the COVID-19 pandemic. In a November 1st letter sent to Senate Committee Chair Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID), PHA thanked the Committee for the opportunity to share its expertise and to act a resource as the Senate takes up drafting legislation in the near future.

As the only multi-stakeholder professional and trade association solely focused on population health management, PHA emphasized our core belief that 'we can’t have successful population health management if the entire population doesn’t have access to care and preventive services.' In the eight-page letter, signed by Executive Director Thomas L. Johnson, PHA addressed social determinants, such as housing, nutrition, family status, and access to transportation that greatly impacts health status and in particular, mental well-being, more than any single health factor. Among the areas in which PHA commented on, included: health equity, integration of mental health care, telehealth, strenthening of the workforce, and ensuring parity.

Click to download or view the letter.

Native to the Washington, DC area with roots in New York, Donta has worked with various national organizations in a variety of executive and philanthropic settings. At the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Donta assisted with the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS) Advisory Board, which is the lead committee providing advice and feedback on the operation of the ERAS System. Prior to the AAMC, Donta was with the National Park Foundation and working on corporate partnerships to protect our national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts; connecting all Americans to their national heritage through community engagement efforts and opportunities for the underserved; and inspiring our youth—through innovative and exciting educational opportunities—to become the next generation of park stewards.

Register today for our upcoming Member Showcase webinar featuring Xcellent Life.

The free program, "Digital Innovation within Population Health: A Comprehensive Look at Wellness," will explore how digital health innovation is being used to empower healthcare across the population, especially how it has positively impacted the underserved community especially in the area of mental health.

During this one-hour fireside webchat, industry thought-leaders will discuss how innovation today is impacting population health and what can be done to ensure we are doing our best to maximize good outcomes. Registrants will learn some of the overall challenges, opportunities, and actions that can be made to enhance wellness, hear predictions to where population health is heading, as well as gain insights into perspectives on population health in general.

We are pleased to report that the following PHA members have recently agreed to serve in Workgroup leadership positions: Josette Gbemudu, Executive Director of Health Equity at Merck will chair the Health Equity Workgroup; Sita Kapoor, Chief Information Officer of HealthEC, will chair the Digital Health, Telehealth and AI workgroup; and Matt Miclette, Senior Director of Clinical Operations at NeuroFlow, will chair the Behavioral Health Workgroup.

If you're a PHA member and would like to serve on one or more of these workgroups, send us an email at staff@populationhealthalliance.org and let us know your preferences.

The CMS Innovation Center, having taken stock of lessons learned from its first decade and 50+ models, is charting a path for the next 10 years of value-based care—one that will improve the health system for all patients.

Join Dr. Ray Fabius, President & Chief Medical Officer of HealthNEXT and co-author of Population Health: Creating a Culture of Wellness, as he discusses how social determinants of health data, powered by health analytics, can provide a robust impact analysis of communities in which employees live, work, and grow. This Conference Board's special webcast takes place November 10 at 2:00pm EST. Sign up for free here.

As part of a commitment to the health and well-being of anyone who walks through the door of a Mercy facility, Mercy’s team is now 100% vaccinated, minus co-workers who received a religious or medical exemption but who undergo rigorous masking and protective equipment protocols and frequent testing. “By requiring all co-workers to be vaccinated, we are making sure anyone who walks through any door of any Mercy facility is better protected from COVID-19,” said Dr. John Mohart, Mercy’s chief clinical officer and senior vice president. Read full press release. 

Britain on Thursday approved the antiviral drug molnupiravir for treating the coronavirus, making it the first pill to be endorsed for Covid patients. The country’s regulatory body said that the antiviral pill, originally designed to fight the flu, was “safe and effective” in reducing the risk of hospitalization and death for those at increased risk of severe symptoms, according to a statement.

Recently the American Medical Group Association (AMGA)'s Group Practice Journal, published an article on how Esse Health drove $3.6M in medical claim savings, sustainably scaled care manager’s reach by 15x, and improved health outcomes for multiple chronic conditions using CareSignal's Deviceless Remote Patient Monitoring. Read case study here.

Bayer signals its commitment to delivering high-quality cucumber, melon, pepper and eggplant seeds faster to growers around the world with the announced expansion of its Vegetable Seeds R&D Product Design Center in San Nicolás, Spain. The San Nicolás site supports Bayer’s global vegetable seeds R&D pipeline for varieties sold to customers in more than 130 countries and territories under the Seminis® and De Ruiter® brands, both united under Vegetables by Bayer. “By using advanced breeding techniques that help speed up the time to market for new varieties, we’re helping growers respond to unexpected challenges of today and into the future,” said Inci Dannenberg, Head of Global Vegetable Seeds at Bayer.

Read full press release.

CareOregon Invests $2.5 Million in Portland Fire & Rescue's New Community Health Assess & Treat Program—Aiming to Build Capacity to Best Serve Oregon Health Plan Members

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