Population health is defined as the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group. These groups are often geographic populations such as nations or communities, but can also be other groups such as employees, ethnic groups, disabled persons, prisoners, or any other defined group. The health outcomes of such groups are of relevance to policy makers in both the public and private sectors.

Note that population health is not simply the overall health of a population, but also includes the distribution of health. Overall health could be quite high if the majority of the population is relatively healthy-even though a minority of the population is much less healthy. Ideally such differences would be eliminated or at least substantially reduced.

Why is there so much focus on Population Health Management? One primary reason is the need to manage healthcare costs. "From my perspective," remarked Pam Beal, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, "Population Health Management helps:

One example of focusing on population health is to ensure and connect individuals who need and may have trouble  receiving their recommended immunizations.  Believed to be one of the greatest medical advancements, vaccines are known as the best form of preventive care. For millions of people, vaccines have protected them from diseases, which would require complex and costly care if contracted. While getting vaccinated seems like the obvious choice, barriers to care remain a problem, and despite efforts, racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination rates still exist.

Today, as we focus on improving the health of our communities, improving vaccination rates is an important area to focus on. From children to adults, vaccination rates for low-income households need improvement. Among children, those from low-income families are more likely to be under-vaccinated. The Affordable Care Act, and programs such as the Vaccines for Children, have made great strides to make vaccine more readily available and affordable. However, today, disparities in vaccination rates exist because of additional barriers. Lack of access, transportation, and a general understanding continue to pose issues.

Health systems including UNLV Medicine as well insurance plans, and local government organizations are doing their part to help reduce these barriers and improve vaccination rates. For example, recently UNLV Medicine's Pediatric Clinic, was one of many across the country that participated in offering a "Back to School" Immunization event offering free immunizations in order to meet both state and school entry requirements and for protection especially for the uninsured and populations that have experienced structural barriers. It is undeniable that vaccines prevent illnesses and provide savings.

United Health Foundation's $3 million gift in support of the UNLV School of Medicine will allow us to more fully develop and implement the following unique aspects of our new medical school including integrating population health into our curriculum and establish a scalable community model of clinical care that improves clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and contains costs.

The more we can do to improve the health of our fellow humans, the more we lift up all aspects of society (healthier populations can accomplish more than ailing populations, after all), including not having to spend as much money on therapeutic interventions. This assumes that the advances in public health are resulting from improvements in preventative care, diet and exercise. People are expecting better care. They are spending more of their earnings on healthcare delivery, from physicians to lab tests to their prescriptions. Medical science must deliver commensurate treatment.

The goal is to provide for better patient satisfaction (on the individual level) while also seeing better health in entire groups.