How population health data can help primary care services to improve population health: A rural case study

[Extract] Population health can be defined as ‘the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group’. This field of activity incorporates population-level examinations of health outcomes, determinants of health, and policies and interventions linking the two. A unique outcome from population health data is the identification of ‘sick populations’, where a high average level of disease risk in a population is directly related to the proportion of people at very high risk. In addition, population health data provides a greater understanding of the interrelationship between multiple determinants of health in affecting health outcomes.