Designing and Evaluating Interventions that have a Measurable Impact on Population Health through Evidence-Based Practices and Research

Research and evidence are two golden words in the world of healthcare. Through research and evidence, we are able to find out what we need to do, what is working, why something does or doesn’t work, and much much more. Today we are going to focus on the use of these golden words in population health. Through working on population health and finding what does and doesn’t work, public health initiatives have evolved. But what does this look like in practice? And in the spirit of research and evidence, how are organizations doing so in a way that we can measure its impact?

In search of this inside look, we reached out to our incredible Healthcare IT Today Community with the question – as public health initiatives evolve, how are organizations incorporating evidence-based practices and research to design and evaluate interventions that have a measurable impact on population health? The following are their answers.

Sandeep Wadhwa, MD, MBA, Global Chief Medical Officer, Health Information Systems at Solventum
I am particularly excited by the focus on improving maternal outcomes by incorporating evidence and research. In particular, there is a much more recent focus on rapid post-partum visits back to the physician for higher-risk moms. In addition to these visits, there is more recognition that maternity-related deaths more often occur 7 days to 1 year after delivery and the leading cause of death are attributable to behavioral health and substance abuse. Increasing focus on identifying and addressing risks of self-harm, intimate partner violence, or sequelae of substance abuse will help decrease potentially preventable maternal adverse events.

Mary Sirois, Managing Director, Performance Improvement Advisory Practice at Nordic
Data and evidence help us uncover larger population health issues and understand trends of potential future issues. For example, the public health initiative around Narcan incorporates not only healthcare data but also data from law enforcement and emergency services to better understand communities at risk and when community supplies of the drug are dwindling.

Pulling together this evidence requires data from healthcare organizations and other entities such as social services and law enforcement, so local public health organizations can understand and address the needs of the population who have opioid and other drug addictions. The key to public health is realizing that evidence comes from several sources, not just the healthcare organization.

Dr. Tim McDonald, Chief Patient Safety and Risk Officer at RLDatix
The organizational culture behind safety efforts in care settings plays a critical yet often understated role in overall population health. Effective safety initiatives involve the fostering and support of a culture infused with psychological safety associated with a willingness to speak up, report defects, and communicate honestly and empathically when outcomes are suboptimal.

These initiatives then integrate these robust practices with connected technologies to create a seamless system where data-driven decisions protect and promote community learning and well-being. By uniting standardized safety protocols within a supportive culture and coupled with the right tools and technology, we not only reduce risks in care coordination but also empower individuals, hospitals, and health systems to proactively manage care delivery practices on a larger more compassionate scale.

David Werry, Co-founder, President, and COO at Well
Evidence-based practices in public health are basically all about making sure that what we’re doing to improve public health works. Health organizations are getting serious about this. They’re diving deep into research, constantly tweaking their programs based on what they learn, and measuring everything they can. It’s like they’re taking a page out of the tech industry’s book – “build it right, with the right team and the right tech.” They’re not just throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks anymore. Instead, they’re carefully designing programs, testing them out, and then fine-tuning them until they get it just right. It’s a more thoughtful approach that could lead to some real, lasting improvements in community health.

Jennifer Goldsmith, President at Tendo
Organizations are incentivized through value-based programs like CMS alternative payment models, Accountable Care Organizations, Medicare Advantage plans, and commercial payer-capitalized models. These programs reward providers based on performance metrics related to population health goals, such as disease screening, prevention, complication surveillance, and outcomes. By setting performance goals and cascading them to clinical staff and stakeholders, organizations use education, process improvement, and data tracking to drive progress toward these targets.

Laura Lile, MD, RPh, Founder and CEO at Lile Wellness
As public health initiatives evolve, we need to begin to incorporate new initiatives such as genomic testing in order to move forward and make an impact for our aging population. Implementing genomics into public health can help lengthen patient health lifespans by being proactive instead of reactive. Nine out of the 10 leading causes of death and disease in the U.S. can be overridden with our genome. That’s why I’m advocating for pharmacists to be credentialed genomic consultants. It starts with education; We must embrace innovative strategies and integrate them into the medical curriculum. Universities need to take the lead by incorporating these innovative concepts into their curricula and establishing pilot programs to test and refine the new model.

Karen Iapoce, Vice President, Government Programs at ZeOmega
Organizations are increasingly using evidence-based practices to design and evaluate public health interventions by integrating relevant research through Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM), utilizing tools like health surveillance systems and systematic reviews, and employing both passive and active implementation strategies. A key focus is on health equity, ensuring that interventions address disparities and are tailored to diverse populations. By combining these strategies, organizations ensure that public health initiatives are effective, contextually relevant, and contribute to reducing health inequities, leading to more impactful and equitable outcomes.

There are so many interesting things to think about here! Huge thank you to Sandeep Wadhwa, MD, MBA, Global Chief Medical Officer, Health Information Systems at Solventum, Mary Sirois, Managing Director, Performance Improvement Advisory Practice at Nordic, Dr. Tim McDonald, Chief Patient Safety and Risk Officer at RLDatix, David Werry, Co-founder, President, and COO at Well, Jennifer Goldsmith, President at Tendo, Laura Lile, MD, RPh, Founder and CEO at Lile Wellness, and Karen Iapoce, Vice President, Government Programs at ZeOmega for taking the time out of your day to submit a quote to us! And thank you to all of you for taking the time out of your day to read this article! We could not do this without all of your support.

As public health initiatives evolve, how do you think organizations are incorporating evidence-based practices and research to design and evaluate interventions that have a measurable impact on population health? Let us know either in the comments down below or over on social media. We’d love to hear from all of you!

Research and evidence are two golden words in the world of healthcare. Through research and evidence, we are able to find out what we need to do, what is working, why something does or doesn’t work, and much much more. Today we are going to focus on the use of these golden words in population health. Through working on population health and finding what does and doesn’t work, public health initiatives have evolved. But what does this look like in practice? And in the spirit of research and evidence, how are organizations doing so in a way that we can measure its impact?

In search of this inside look, we reached out to our incredible Healthcare IT Today Community with the question – as public health initiatives evolve, how are organizations incorporating evidence-based practices and research to design and evaluate interventions that have a measurable impact on population health? The following are their answers.

Sandeep Wadhwa, MD, MBA, Global Chief Medical Officer, Health Information Systems at Solventum
I am particularly excited by the focus on improving maternal outcomes by incorporating evidence and research. In particular, there is a much more recent focus on rapid post-partum visits back to the physician for higher-risk moms. In addition to these visits, there is more recognition that maternity-related deaths more often occur 7 days to 1 year after delivery and the leading cause of death are attributable to behavioral health and substance abuse. Increasing focus on identifying and addressing risks of self-harm, intimate partner violence, or sequelae of substance abuse will help decrease potentially preventable maternal adverse events.

Mary Sirois, Managing Director, Performance Improvement Advisory Practice at Nordic
Data and evidence help us uncover larger population health issues and understand trends of potential future issues. For example, the public health initiative around Narcan incorporates not only healthcare data but also data from law enforcement and emergency services to better understand communities at risk and when community supplies of the drug are dwindling.

Pulling together this evidence requires data from healthcare organizations and other entities such as social services and law enforcement, so local public health organizations can understand and address the needs of the population who have opioid and other drug addictions. The key to public health is realizing that evidence comes from several sources, not just the healthcare organization.

Dr. Tim McDonald, Chief Patient Safety and Risk Officer at RLDatix
The organizational culture behind safety efforts in care settings plays a critical yet often understated role in overall population health. Effective safety initiatives involve the fostering and support of a culture infused with psychological safety associated with a willingness to speak up, report defects, and communicate honestly and empathically when outcomes are suboptimal.

These initiatives then integrate these robust practices with connected technologies to create a seamless system where data-driven decisions protect and promote community learning and well-being. By uniting standardized safety protocols within a supportive culture and coupled with the right tools and technology, we not only reduce risks in care coordination but also empower individuals, hospitals, and health systems to proactively manage care delivery practices on a larger more compassionate scale.

David Werry, Co-founder, President, and COO at Well
Evidence-based practices in public health are basically all about making sure that what we’re doing to improve public health works. Health organizations are getting serious about this. They’re diving deep into research, constantly tweaking their programs based on what they learn, and measuring everything they can. It’s like they’re taking a page out of the tech industry’s book – “build it right, with the right team and the right tech.” They’re not just throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks anymore. Instead, they’re carefully designing programs, testing them out, and then fine-tuning them until they get it just right. It’s a more thoughtful approach that could lead to some real, lasting improvements in community health.

Jennifer Goldsmith, President at Tendo
Organizations are incentivized through value-based programs like CMS alternative payment models, Accountable Care Organizations, Medicare Advantage plans, and commercial payer-capitalized models. These programs reward providers based on performance metrics related to population health goals, such as disease screening, prevention, complication surveillance, and outcomes. By setting performance goals and cascading them to clinical staff and stakeholders, organizations use education, process improvement, and data tracking to drive progress toward these targets.

Laura Lile, MD, RPh, Founder and CEO at Lile Wellness
As public health initiatives evolve, we need to begin to incorporate new initiatives such as genomic testing in order to move forward and make an impact for our aging population. Implementing genomics into public health can help lengthen patient health lifespans by being proactive instead of reactive. Nine out of the 10 leading causes of death and disease in the U.S. can be overridden with our genome. That’s why I’m advocating for pharmacists to be credentialed genomic consultants. It starts with education; We must embrace innovative strategies and integrate them into the medical curriculum. Universities need to take the lead by incorporating these innovative concepts into their curricula and establishing pilot programs to test and refine the new model.

Karen Iapoce, Vice President, Government Programs at ZeOmega
Organizations are increasingly using evidence-based practices to design and evaluate public health interventions by integrating relevant research through Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM), utilizing tools like health surveillance systems and systematic reviews, and employing both passive and active implementation strategies. A key focus is on health equity, ensuring that interventions address disparities and are tailored to diverse populations. By combining these strategies, organizations ensure that public health initiatives are effective, contextually relevant, and contribute to reducing health inequities, leading to more impactful and equitable outcomes.

There are so many interesting things to think about here! Huge thank you to Sandeep Wadhwa, MD, MBA, Global Chief Medical Officer, Health Information Systems at Solventum, Mary Sirois, Managing Director, Performance Improvement Advisory Practice at Nordic, Dr. Tim McDonald, Chief Patient Safety and Risk Officer at RLDatix, David Werry, Co-founder, President, and COO at Well, Jennifer Goldsmith, President at Tendo, Laura Lile, MD, RPh, Founder and CEO at Lile Wellness, and Karen Iapoce, Vice President, Government Programs at ZeOmega for taking the time out of your day to submit a quote to us! And thank you to all of you for taking the time out of your day to read this article! We could not do this without all of your support.

As public health initiatives evolve, how do you think organizations are incorporating evidence-based practices and research to design and evaluate interventions that have a measurable impact on population health? Let us know either in the comments down below or over on social media. We’d love to hear from all of you!