Population Health refers to the outcomes of a group of individuals with similar characteristics—including the distribution of such outcomes within the group—and the role of health determinants. These health determinants can include medical care, public health, social environment, genetics, and individual behavior.¹ According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), population health allows for health care organizations to collaborate and improve outcomes in the community.

Primary Care First is a set of payment model options that aims to financially incentivize value and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries seen in the primary care setting, especially those with complex medical conditions.¹ The principles of this model are similar to those of current Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) models, especially in terms of prioritizing the primary care provider–patient relationship, financially rewarding improvement in health outcomes, and reducing administrative burden.

Public health is defined as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private communities, and individuals”.¹ Health determinants (the personal, economic, social and environmental factors that affect health) can play a role in public health due to certain populations potentially being more predisposed to particular conditions due to genetics, health behaviors, social or societal characteristics, and availability and quality of health services or medical care.² The aims of public health are prevention and health promotion. Prevention is aimed at reducing the risk of disease, such as modifying risk factors, using screenings to find disease in its early stages, and immunizations, while health promotion is directed at modifying behaviors of individuals at risk.

The Quintuple Aim is an expansion beyond both the Triple Aim and Quadruple Aim. Initially, the Triple Aim focused on enhancing patient experience, improving population health, and reducing costs.¹ The Quadruple Aim was expanded to include improvement of the work-life harmony of health care providers.¹

In 1992, Medicare updated its payment system with the aid of the American Medical Association (AMA) to establish a standardized physician fee schedule based upon relative value units (RVUs).¹ RVUs define the value of a health care service relative to all other health care services based upon the extent of the provider’s work, practice resources (both clinical and nonclinical), malpractice insurance, and expertise needed to deliver the service to patients.² RVUs are the basis of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to determine health care providers’ payment.¹