85% of Hospitals Committed to Population Health, says AHA/PHI National Survey

As the healthcare sector continues to go through tremendous transformation, an overwhelming majority of hospitals now voice a strong commitment to population health, according to a new national survey of hospitals conducted by the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Association for Community Health Improvement (ACHI) and Health Research & Educational Trust, in partnership with the Public Health Institute. Takeaways include: Hospitals are committed to population health. 85% of responding hospitals reported “strong” or “total” commitment to population health, or have population health in their vision statement. 90% “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that population health was aligned with their mission. Hospitals seek collaboration and partnership. 69% reported being part of a community-wide coalition. Over 80% agreed or strongly agreed that they had strong collaborations with community organizations. The most common partnerships were with public health departments, chambers of commerce, health insurance companies and community clinics. There is more to be done. Less than 20% “strongly agreed” that their hospital had programs to address the socioeconomic determinants of health. Some strong, potential partners have yet to be brought to the table. Hospitals were least likely to collaborate with housing/community development and transportation allies. “I have spent my career jointly working on behalf of hospitals and working on behalf of public health. We each have so much to learn from each other—I am encouraged to see that synergy is beginning to happen,” said Mary A. Pittman, DrPH, president and CEO of the Public Health Institute (PHI), and former head of AHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust. “Providing excellent clinical care for patients remains essential, but hospitals are also in a strong position to engage in efforts in the broader community that address factors that cause illness in the first place.” Find out more about the survey results.