Population Health and the Future of Healthcare

Richard K. Thomas, Ph.D., has spent his entire professional career (40+ years) in health services research, marketing, planning, and business development. He is a partner in a Memphis-based consulting firm and is associated with various other research and consulting endeavors. Dr. Thomas provides consultation services to hospitals, physician practices, health plans, and other healthcare organizations in the areas of strategic planning, market research, and business development. He has authored or co-authored twenty books and numerous articles on healthcare. He was an early proponent of “health demography” and his book (co-authored with Louis Pol) "The Demography of Health and Health Care" has set the standard for the field. Dr. Thomas is currently on the faculties of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Center for Health Systems Improvement) and Mississippi State University (Social Science Research Center). Dr. Thomas has been awarded numerous government and foundation grants and has managed several NIH grants related to health data management. Dr. Thomas holds a Ph.D. in medical sociology from Vanderbilt University. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College) and master’s degrees in sociology and geography from the University of Memphis.

• 1. Defining Population Health.- 2. The Road to Population Health: A Changing Society.- 3. The Road to Population Health: A Changing Healthcare System .- 4. The Roots of Population Health.- 5. Health Status and How to Measure It.- 6. The Social Determinants of Health and Illness.- 7. Paying the Piper:  Health Disparities.- 8. Population Health and Healthcare Delivery.- 9. Population Health and Public Policy.- 10. Traditional Approaches to Community Health Data.- 11. Data Needs for the Population Health Model.- 12. The Role of the Community in Population Health Improvement.