UTHSC Launches Tennessee Population Health Consortium

June 22, 2021 - The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) recently launched the Tennessee Population Health Consortium, a statewide initiative dedicated to improving health outcomes and equity across Tennessee.

The consortium will focus on using health coaching approaches to change the nature of primary care, encouraging quality improvement and population health research. In addition, the consortium will partner with the Tennessee Heart Health Network, the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, and the Diabetes Wellness and Prevention coalition to expand the initiative’s reach.

“The launch of the consortium gives our partnering academic institutions, health systems, health plans, quality improvement organizations, providers, and patients across the state an historic opportunity to work together to improve the health of Tennesseans,” Jim Bailey, MD, the Tennessee Population Health Consortium’s executive director, said in an announcement.

Researchers at these institutions will work with UTHSC to address Tennessee’s obesity epidemic by providing preventive services for patients along with training and education for primary care providers.

Additionally, the Tennessee Population Health Data Network will be established to gather health data, track outcomes, and improve diabetes and cancer care. The efforts will be supported by a variety of partnering advocacy organizations, health plans, and industry leaders, including the Tennessee Medical Association and the American Heart Association.

“For the first time, our UTHSC campuses across the state are contributing their substantial educational, training, information technology, and communications assets to explicitly support our statewide partners in their efforts to measurably improve health equity and population health,” Bailey continued.

“We are all focused on strengthening and supporting primary and preventive care, where the true heroes of our health care system can do the most lifesaving work,” he added. “We know that we will only be successful if we all work together for better health in Tennessee.”

According to its website, the consortium’s long-term goals are to reduce obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart attacks, and increase access to primary care and preventive measures. In addition, the consortium aims to save patients and providers money by increasing productivity and focusing on preventive care.

“The Consortium aims to accomplish this by sharing, promoting, and supporting implementation of best evidence from patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) and shifting practice focus away from pill-pushing and toward changing health behavior using proven primary care-based health coaching approaches,” the website states.

This work builds upon a $4.5 million grant that UTHSC received in May from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to study patient-centered avenues of improving health outcomes for people with cardiovascular disease. The three-year grant will enable UTHSC to form a network of primary care providers and health systems to implement innovative new approaches to care.

Updated population health strategies are becoming increasingly necessary in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. A focus on preventive care can improve health outcomes while reducing medical costs for both patients and providers. COVID-19 revealed that health inequity and a lack of access to quality care can have significant negative impacts on overall population health.