Blog/Magazine Article

Sandra Bates, CEO and founder of The Innovation Partners, discusses “a framework for visualizing problems [or unmet needs of the individuals and organizations involved] and a common language for talking about them can make all the difference.”

John Kania, managing director at FSG, and Mark Kramer, co-founder and a managing director of FSG, discuss how “large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, yet the social sector remains focused on the isolated intervention of individual organizations.”

“One challenge that arises in cross-sector partnerships is the set of practical governance tools available to each of the partners, which we argue differ significantly across sectors. Consequently, alliances between companies and non-profits must rely on other partnership structures and governance mechanisms. Our research suggests that similar challenges arise in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) between businesses and governments.”

In this article, Neal Halfon and coauthors explain the 3.0 Transformation Framework that they “developed to stimulate thinking and support the planning and development of the new roadmap for the next generation of the US health care system” and “how the 3.0 Transformation Framework has been used and applied in national, state, and local settings.”

“Health care organizations and public health agencies have operated in parallel for many decades, brushing up against each other at times of crisis or, occasionally, building on mutual interests. Overlapping objectives of these two health sectors should be obvious, and the collaborative potential evident.” This article discusses the natural barriers health care delivery and public health face to partnering to improve individual and population health.

Columbia University professors Howard W. Buffett and William B. Eimicke discuss how, today, “profit and purpose are converging.” They cite how millennials “no longer believe the primary purpose of business should be to make a profit, but rather to create social value. Customers overwhelmingly prefer products tied to a social cause. [They believe that] for businesses to survive and succeed in today’s globalized, hyper-connected world, business leaders must be willing to embrace collaboration as a guiding principle, more so than competition.”

Lauren Taylor, author of the American Health Care Paradox, writes about how “the impact of housing on health is now being widely considered by policy makers. Housing is one of the best-researched social determinants of health, and selected housing interventions for low-income people have been found to improve health outcomes and decrease health care costs. As a result, many health care systems, payers, and government entities are seeking to better understand the totality of the health and housing literature to determine where they might intervene effectively.”

*Note: This article can only be accessed with purchase from the publisher.

Melinda Chen, a primary care physician and health services researcher, and coauthors, discuss that “some hospitals are taking a broad population health stance. [But], at present, these hospitals are exceptions to the norm.” In this blog, the authors explore if “more hospitals [could] have the incentives and capabilities to develop sustainable programs that address non-medical determinants of population health in their communities.”