Population Health Management 2017, Part 1
Validating Adoption of PHM Functionality

Population Health Management Framework

Provider organizations’ needs in managing population health are as varied as the capabilities of the IT solutions designed to assist them. To create a standard for the core competencies required in a population health management (PHM) solution, KLAS held a summit in 2016 attended by executives from provider organizations, HIT vendors, services firms, and payer organizations. Six verticals of IT functionality required for PHM were identified as well as basic and advanced functionalities for each vertical. This report validates which basic functionalities vendors’ most advanced PHM customers currently use. A second report focused on performance will publish December 2017.

1. HealthEC, IBM Watson Health, and Philips Most Broadly Deployed Non-EMR Vendors

While many vendors are used across multiple PHM verticals, no one tool is yet used for all basic functionalities within each vertical. However, since many organizations are trying to get as close as they can to a one-stop shop, EMR vendors—specifically athenahealth, Cerner, and Epic—see strong cross-vertical deployment more often than most third-party vendors. Outside of the EMR vendors, several third-party solutions also see broad cross-vertical deployment, including large national players IBM Watson Health and Philips Wellcentive. IBM Watson Health has created a comprehensive product suite through acquisition; Philips Wellcentive has focused on building out solutions from a core product. Regional vendor HealthEC sees the most comprehensive deployment across the six verticals due to nimble development and a highly flexible tool.

2. Deployment Gaps ______ More Common Than Functionality Gaps

Organizations have differing PHM needs, but customers’ expectations for their tools and the way vendors sell, implement, and customize systems also impact which functionality customers choose to deploy. While best-of-breed vendors may be deployed deeply in a couple of verticals, customers don’t view the solutions as broader PHM tools and opt not to deploy them in other verticals (e.g., Lightbeam, Conifer Health Solutions used mainly for data analysis; Forward Health Group used mainly for clinician engagement). Vendors viewed as having broader platforms and strategies are more likely to be adopted broadly as their tools develop, as is the case with Epic. Many vendors (e.g., Arcadia and Advisory Board) offer consulting in addition to technology, which can also improve adoption. Other vendors (e.g., Evolent Health) take their services further, managing their customers’ PHM and then sharing the rewards of risk-based agreements.

Population Health Framework Verticals

Note: Depth of deployment determined by average percent of basic functionality deployed.