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Use data to promote a holistic approach: organizations that effectively use data will help consumers live healthier.

Article Excerpt
Population health management (PHM) is the concept of predicting, maintaining, and coordinating the health of an individual within an at-risk population. An effective PHM program strives to achieve the optimum treatment cost and clinical outcomes for a population. Within the behavioral healthcare community, PHM is not necessarily just about mental health or substance abuse issues but includes their relationship to physical health conditions in order to treat the whole person.

A clear connection exists between physical and behavioral health, as chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer often co-occur with mental health issues. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 15 to 25% of cancer patients develop depression and anxiety. Depression can lead to a much lower quality of life and trigger substance abuse, other mental health problems, or behaviors that can worsen one's physical condition and prevent a positive outcome to medical treatment. Another example: A study in Pediatrics found that the longer a child is overweight, the more he/she is at risk for depression and other...

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