VOLUME 1
The Population Health Bible
For Healthcare Leaders
By Kelly Emrick, DHSc, PhD, MBA
Part I
Foundations & the 2026 Recalibration
CHAPTER 1
Page 11
Population Health
Definitions, Denominators, & Accountability
- Pop health vs. public health vs. medicine
- The denominator, attribution & empanelment
- Outcomes, disparities & equity gradients
- Operating discipline over pilot culture
CHAPTER 2
Page 76
The Great Recalibration
From Pilot to Mandatory Operating Reality
- Why voluntarism failed & adverse selection
- Mandated accountability & tighter margins
- Workforce scarcity as a design constraint
- Technology & governance as survival tools
CHAPTER 3
Page 134
Ethics, Equity & Social Contract
The Moral Core of Population Health
- Equity vs. equality & action thresholds
- Allocation ethics & resource rationing
- Algorithmic ethics, bias & transparency
- Practical ethics & trade-offs for leaders
CHAPTER 4
Page 208
Systems Thinking
Learning Systems for Population Health
- Health systems as complex adaptive systems
- Feedback loops & unintended consequences
- Continuous improvement (Reliability, PDSA)
- Measurement to action to redesign cycles
Part II
Measurement, Risk & Financial Reality
CHAPTER 5
Page 275
Epidemiology in Practice
Translating Evidence into Operations
- Incidence, prevalence & risk ratios
- Study designs & causal caution
- Screening science & predictive values
- Population attributable risk
CHAPTER 6
Page 329
Metrics & Performance
Measurement That Drives Action
- Outcomes, processes & balancing measures
- Stratification, subgroup reporting & gaming
- Patient-reported outcomes (PROMs)
- From reporting to accountability huddles
CHAPTER 7
Page 377
Risk Stratification
Segmentation & Case Mix
- Risk adjustment fundamentals
- Clinical vs. utilization segmentation
- Social/behavioral risk signals & validity
- Predictive models vs. rules-based action
CHAPTER 8
Page 433
The Economics
Navigating a Mixed Payment System
- Total cost of care vs. actual margins
- The sustainability paradox & delayed savings
- ROI: Quality bonuses, utilization avoidance
- CFO-grade business cases & “kill criteria”
CHAPTER 9
Page 496
Data Foundations & Interoperability
The New Infrastructure
- Claims data limits vs. EHR documentation bias
- Data quality operations & exception handling
- Interoperability as workflow (FHIR, TEFCA)
- Governance, privacy & audit readiness
Appendix
Page 562
Glossary of Key Terms
Page 591