Temple Center for Population Health

Driving Equitable, High-Quality Healthcare For Our Community

The Temple Center for Population Health (TCPH) pioneers and expands innovative new models of care that serve patients at high medical risk, tackle some of today’s greatest population health challenges, and serve as guides for other health systems nationally, caring for high-risk and medically complex populations.

Patients who are managing complex or chronic medical conditions and challenging economic or social conditions often need support achieving optimal health. They need providers focused on outcomes and coordinated care, assistance navigating healthcare systems and following care plans, and support in accessing the preconditions of health, like stable housing and nutrition.

A Sustainable Model of Healthcare Delivery: Expanded Access, Enhanced Quality

TCPH brings Temple Health’s clinical, business, and community networks together to address health challenges in a coordinated way, improving outcomes for patients and reducing avoidable healthcare costs. Our innovative programs expand access to care, enhance healthcare quality across all settings, and help patients stay healthy outside of the doctor’s office.

Our work:

Addresses the social determinants of health.
Improves outpatient and primary care management of chronic conditions.
Improves care coordination, risk-stratification, and outcomes tracking across providers and systems.
Champions value-based care, facilitating both quality improvement and accountable care administration among affiliated providers.
Partners closely with our community to ensure that our community’s needs inform all of our programs

Program Spotlight

Housing Smart: Connecting Housing to Health for Improved Outcomes

Our innovative Housing Smart program provides housing and support services for homeless/unhoused patients, leading to improved quality outcomes for Temple patients participating in the pilot initiative:

75% fewer ED visits
79% fewer inpatient admissions

Leading With Innovation

The Temple Center for Population Health is led by Steven R. Carson, MHA, BSN, RN, Senior Vice President of Population Health for Temple University Health System. A registered nurse with more than 30 years of hospital, home health, and leadership experience, he has been recognized by Modern Healthcare and the Acenda Institute of Health Innovation for his visionary leadership of Temple’s population health programs. He works with the Population Health team to drive creation of care models and partnerships that demonstrate how large health systems everywhere can work with local stakeholders to improve population health and well-being.

Learn more about our leadership team.

How We Work

Temple Health’s patient population includes more than 150,000 lives in pay-for-performance, CMS Alternative Payment Programs, shared savings and care management plans. Through effective clinical and community interventions, accountable and high-value care, and integration of data across systems, the Center for Population Health helps to ensure that our patients receive the right care and resources at the right time—reducing the need for higher-level and emergency health services.

We partner with local government, nonprofit, payer and provider organizations to implement innovative quality improvement programs in areas including care transition, chronic disease management, and long-term and palliative care.

The Temple Center for Population Health also collaborates with schools, colleges and centers across Temple University, such as the Center for Urban Bioethics, for many special initiatives impacting our North Philadelphia community.

Key Areas and Programs

(Click on each item to learn more)

Provider Network

Temple’s Center for Population Health reaches patients who receive health care from Temple hospital-based services and providers and from community primary care offices. This includes the Temple Care Integrated Network, a novel partnership between many of the region’s independent, primary care physician practices whose Health Partners Plan patients also access Temple Health for services. We are invested in improving outcomes for our whole community.

Temple Care Integrated Network >

Data

Robust data management through our data warehouse and other infrastructure allows the Center for Population Health to track and manage multiple data streams including EMR and claims data, social determinants of health surveys, and data sharing through the regional Health Share Exchange. We conduct robust risk stratification to identify the patients most in need of specific services, track and improve outcomes, and coordinate healthcare services across health systems.

Quality Management

The Center tracks outcomes measures such as HEDIS and STARS to help patients receive needed care and screenings and enhance health equity by closing care gaps. We work with providers to develop systems that ensure that office visits cover important areas and lead to screenings and vaccinations where needed; reduce hospital readmissions by improving care transfers and addressing the causes of repeat hospital stays; and track key performance indicators such as emergency department utilization to manage pay-for-performance incentives.

Quality management initiatives >

Care Management

TCPH care management programs focus on reducing risk and improving chronic disease management for target populations with high health care utilization. Our nurse navigators, community health workers and licensed social workers help coordinate and support patient and family care, focusing on quality indicators and coordinated communications among providers and between providers and patients.

Care management programs >

Community Partnerships

Addressing social determinants of health, access to care, and transition of care are key to driving health outcomes and quality of life. Partnerships with other organizations in the Philadelphia region enable us to both directly assist patients to improve their wellness, and to ensure they receive the best possible care in other medical contexts.

Temple’s Center for Population Health collaborations and partnerships >

Clinical Programs

Managing and preventing significant and pervasive health issues requires extensive, long-term education and support for both patients and providers. By bringing together multidisciplinary specialists, local providers, and community partners we can address high-impact medical conditions impacting our region’s population health.

Temple’s Center for Population Health clinical programs >