Figure 1.

Classification of population health, population medicine, and population health management.

Note: Figure 1 provides a visual comparison of population health, population medicine, and population health management. The two overlapping concentric shapes in the center of the figure depict the relationship between these three definitions. The largest concentric shape depicts population health, which represents a combination of the clinical population of patients managed by the healthcare organization and the local geographically defined population. The second smaller overlapping concentric shape represents a sum of activities and functions that fall within the domains of population medicine and population health management. As shown by labels on the vertical (Y) axis, these activities and functions cumulatively address a broad spectrum of patient care (both direct and indirect) and health and wellness needs, from the individual to the population levels. The horizontal (X) axis represents a spectrum of complexity of individual health needs ranging from health promotion and wellness and routine preventive care to more complex needs involving chronic disease care and longitudinal management of more complex and resource intensive conditions.