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Designing a Population Based System

Three women in scrubs walking together down a hospital hallway, engaged in conversation and collaboration.

At OVSP we work on Healthcare Systems, Networks and Pathways, with our primary focus on Systems. We would define these terms in healthcare as follows:

  • Systems – What is being delivered (as defined by patient outcomes)
  • Networks – Who is delivering the care
  • Pathways/services – How the care is delivered

The networks and pathways/services are the variables that can be modified to affect the system. OVSP focuses on systems because differences in demography, local politics, and resources preclude the ability to have a one-size fits all solution for the “who/how” of care delivery but we can still have one system specification that all networks and pathways/services can adhere to; the system can be seen as a normalising factor because all patients for a given condition will need the same outcomes, how those outcomes are delivered and who delivers them can certainly be different.

The design methodology relies on working with multi-stakeholder groups that include the key stakeholders in the care pathway (i.e. patients, GPs, specialists, nurses, para-health professionals, IT, commissioners, etc.) to design ideal population-based systems of care that deliver value to patients. Below is a summary of the 10 keys steps in designing a system specification.

Design Methodology – 10 Steps to design a population based system:

Design Methodology 10 Steps to design a population based system


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