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Review
. 2022 Nov;58(8):1428-1436.
doi: 10.1007/s10597-022-00957-3. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Toward Population Health: Using a Learning Behavioral Health System and Measurement-Based Care to Improve Access, Care, Outcomes, and Disparities

Miriam C Tepper  1   2 , Mary Catherine Ward  3 , Rajendra Aldis  3   4 , Margaret Lanca  3   4 , Philip S Wang  3   4 , Carl E Fulwiler  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Toward Population Health: Using a Learning Behavioral Health System and Measurement-Based Care to Improve Access, Care, Outcomes, and Disparities

Miriam C Tepper et al. Community Ment Health J. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Achieving population behavioral health is urgently needed. The mental health system struggles with enormous challenges of providing access to mental health services, improving quality and equitability of care, and ensuring good health outcomes across subpopulations. Little data exists about increasing access within highly constrained resources, staging/sequencing treatment along care pathways, or personalizing treatments. The conceptual model of the learning healthcare system offers a potential paradigm shift for addressing these challenges. In this article we present an overview of how the three constructs of population health, learning health systems, and measurement-based care are inter-related, and we provide an example of how one academic, community-based, safety net health system is approaching integrating these paradigms into its service delivery system. Implementation outcomes will be described in a subsequent publication. We close by discussing how ultimately, to meaningfully improve population behavioral health, a learning healthcare system could expand into a learning health community in order to target critical points of prevention and intervention.

Keywords: Disparities; Learning health system; Measurement-based care; Patient-reported outcomes; Population health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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