Creating healthy populations in the 21st century

Sue Siegel, CEO of GE Ventures and Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, Director of IGHI.

IGHI and GE healthymagination convene thought leaders to identify innovative approaches to address population health.

The Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and GE healthymagination held a thought leadership event last weekend on ‘Creating Healthy Populations in the 21st Century’ at the Academy of Medical Sciences in London. The event was co-hosted by Sue Siegel, CEO of GE Ventures, and Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, Director of the IGHI.  During the event, leading health experts were challenged to explore important emerging themes in the field of population health through a series of engaging panel discussions. 

Population health is often defined as "the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group". It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire human population. One of the aims of the event was to assess whether this definition is this still appropriate as the breadth of research in this area continues to grow.

As the topic of population health gains stature within the global health community, both IGHI and GE healthymagination appreciate the significance of showcasing the latest in research and case studies from this field in order to demonstrate its potential to provide solutions to challenges faced by all those involved in the delivery and provision of health care. This event provided an opportunity for those involved in spearheading innovative research in this area, through technology, data sharing and community-wide programs, to showcase the impact of their work.

In addition to providing a thorough overview of what is meant by population health today, the group also explored the future landscape of population health and how it will benefit from emerging innovations in technology, service model design and big-data and analytics to realise truly transformative economic impact for years to come.

Over 40 participants attended including Don Berwick, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer to England and Chief Medical Advisor, Ben Page, CEO of Ipsos MORI, and Professor Alice Gast, Imperial College’s President. 

On closing the meeting, IGHI Director, Professor the Lord Ara Darzi of Denham said “We would like to thank all delegates for attending. These dynamic, interactive, round table discussions have been an excellent opportunity in which to discuss the health care strategies and tools that are being employed globally to accelerate health care transformation.  It has also helped to demystify the meaning of population health, allowing us to better understand the metrics that could be employed to measure population health going forward. Today’s shared learning will help us establish new strategies for healthier cities and to determine the role of employers and healthcare providers alike”.