Top 15 population health management software solutions

Population health management aims to improve health outcomes across large patient groups, which requires cohesive healthcare strategies. Manually gathering and filtering population health data is inefficient, but population health management software delivers the tools needed to engage patients, stratify risk, and improve care quality.

This article provides an overview of population health management software, including the top providers. We’ll cover:

• Population health management software FAQs
• 15 leading population health management software options

Population health management software FAQs

Here are a few highlights about population health management software:

• Population health management (PHM) software manages the health outcomes of a group of individuals within a predefined population.
• It works by aggregating and analyzing data from various sources to contextualize a population’s health needs, so providers can gain insights into opportunities to achieve population health goals.
• PHM software includes features like data aggregation, integrated care management, patient engagement, referral management, and quality management.
• Benefits of using PHM software include data-driven care, chronic condition management, care coordination, risk-stratification models, and patient engagement.

Below, we provide a more detailed breakdown of these highlights.

What is population health management software?

Population health management (PHM) software refers to digital tools used to manage the health outcomes of a group of individuals within a predefined population. The goal of PHM software is to help healthcare providers deliver proactive, value-based care through preventive interventions that reduce the risk of illness progression.

How does population health management software work?

Population health management software works in the following steps:

1. PHM software aggregates data from various sources, including electronic health records (EHRs), self-reported patient data, claims data, and social determinants of health (SDoH) information.
2. The software analyzes the data points to contextualize each patient’s care needs.
3. Providers use these insights to prioritize the right resources needed to achieve goals based on population and performance benchmarks.

What features does population health management software offer?

Different PHM solutions offer varying features, but a few common features are shared across solutions, including:

• Data aggregation: PHM software collects and aggregates data from many sources to offer a comprehensive view of a patient’s health needs.
• Integrated care management: Analytics tools help providers identify patients with complex health needs by unifying disparate data, so care teams can provide high-quality care to the right patients at the right time.
• Patient engagement: PHM software often includes tools and strategies that enable patients to actively manage their care. These include accessible patient portals, mobile apps, and administrative reminders that promote adherence to care plans.
• Referral management: When patients need to be referred to specialists or other healthcare services, referral management capabilities streamline the process. This feature also tracks and analyzes referral trends and patterns to maximize positive outcomes.
• Quality management: This feature uses performance-tracking indicators, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction to monitor quality and provide performance improvement suggestions.

By leveraging all of these features, healthcare organizations can transition from reactive care to proactive health management. However, the specific solution your team chooses will also depend on your population health goals. For instance, you might prioritize finding a solution with user-friendly capabilities that connects disparate care teams. This promotes more effective disease management across different settings and providers.

What are the benefits of using population health management software?

The benefits of PHM software include:

• Data-driven care: PHM software allows providers to tailor interventions to individual patients and care plans while monitoring how niche groups compare to broader population trends.
• Chronic condition management: Chronic conditions account for the majority of preventable deaths in the United States and are a leading driver of the nation's $4.9 trillion in annual healthcare costs. Population health management solutions enable providers to address preventable health events and better manage costs.
• Care coordination: With the right tools, providers can collaborate with stakeholders on every level to assess and track care management notes and patient histories against pre-defined benchmarks. This can ultimately lead to smoother transitions of care and proper follow-up with patients.
• Risk-sharing models: PHM software uses advanced analytics to categorize patients by risk profile. Providers can use these insights to proactively allocate resources to patients most likely to benefit from an intervention.
• Patient engagement: PHM software empowers patients to take control of their health by enabling them to communicate with their care teams. In turn, this engagement can improve adherence to care plans and overall health outcomes.
• Value-based care performance: Under value-based care contracts, providers must focus on adding quality, efficiency, and overall value to their services rather than the quantity of care. Population health management software enables data-driven decision-making, allowing providers to reduce unnecessary healthcare utilization.

When implemented properly, PHM software aligns all stakeholders — providers, payers, and patients — to drive success in value-based care.

15 leading population health management software options

1. Arcadia

Recognized by KLAS Research as one of the most well-rounded population health management vendors, Arcadia leads the market as a top PHM software provider. Arcadia’s analytics platform offers a solid foundation of data that makes sustainable success possible within a value-based care framework.

Some of Arcadia’s standout features include:

• Unified data: Arcadia curates data from clinical EHRs, claims data, social determinants of health (SDoH), pharmacy records, ADT feeds, and other sources, so it’s all visible in one place.
• Visual analytics: Beyond surfacing population-level trends, Arcadia’s platform helps users visualize insights with intuitive dashboards.
• Automated workflow tools: Arcadia’s point-of-care solutions connect clinicians to data warehouse tables to surface information where decisions and actions occur.
• Patient engagement functionality: AI-powered tools streamline patient segmentation and communication, supporting engagement, improved treatment adherence, and overall outcomes.
• Performance tracking: Organizations can use real-time analytics dashboards to measure care quality and efficiency and identify opportunities for performance improvement.

Arcadia’s platform enables healthcare systems to drive better outcomes for populations both big and small, complex and simple. With a solid foundation of unified data, organizations can rely on actionable insights within existing workflows to direct their population health management efforts.

2. CareJourney

CareJourney was acquired by Arcadia in 2024, and together, they equip health organizations with robust provider performance data. Powered by market-leading analytics powered by Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, and Commercial claims data, CareJourney enables health teams to improve the effectiveness of efforts to deliver long-term health solutions to whole populations.

3. HealthHelper

HealthHelper is a care coordination tool that specializes in panel management, equipping providers to proactively manage a population’s health needs. This solution’s panel analytics, care gap closure, and detailed reporting tools enable providers to implement targeted interventions that address population health needs before they escalate to adverse health events.

4. Socially Determined

SDoH data holds significant implications for population health, making Socially Determined a critical element of providers’ population health management tech stacks. This platform provides targeted data and analytics for a fuller picture of a patient’s social risk. As a result, health organizations can factor social risks and non-medical health influences into patients’ care plans.

5. J2 Interactive

J2 Interactive’s software development and IT consulting services support health teams navigating complex data and interoperability needs. Especially when tracking patient data and care management efforts across large populations with diverse needs, health teams can deliver improved care at scale with support from J2 Interactive.

6. Castell

While Castell isn’t a dedicated population health management solution, it supports PHM efforts by consolidating and managing payer contracts. Through its partnership with Arcadia, this platform equips providers to streamline value-based contracting so that they can focus more of their efforts on optimizing care for the populations they serve.

7. AthenaHealth

AthenaHealth is a PHM software platform built to help organizations manage multiple EHRs. This solution aggregates, maintains, and normalizes clinical, financial, and payer data to offer organizations reliable data sets. Care teams can quickly assess the right care plans with configurable, evidence-based content.

Then, with help from AthenaHealth, providers can maximize outreach by adjusting their approach to each patient. As healthcare organizations expand, they can rely on reporting dashboards to show cost and utilization across populations.

AthenaHealth also offers a reliable EHR mobile app for patients to log their progress and message care managers on the go.

8. Azara

Azara is a provider of population health solutions for standalone and physician networks, community health centers, and more. Azara engages patients through pre-configured “set it and forget it” programs that automatically initiate patient contact (via text), and track response and follow-up actions.

Additionally, its data analytics capabilities combine EHR data with screening results from SDOH demographic information to create a multi-faceted picture of patient health. Its set of dashboards and reports incorporates data from health plans and other payers with clinical EHR data to offer a detailed utilization view.

9. Conifer Health Solutions

Conifer Health Solutions’ PHM tools are created to prioritize outreach and engagement for people serving hospitals, health systems, and unions.

This solution integrates with health plans to bring pharmacy benefit managers, third-party administrators, provider networks, and other benefit solution vendors together. Specifically, Conifer Health Solutions specializes in personal care nursing, case management, disease management, and utilization management to help members find the right care at the right time.

10. Epic Healthy Planet

With Epic’s PHM suite, Healthy Planet, care teams can monitor patient health and take action with engagement tools. Its data aggregation capabilities eliminate the need for duplicate testing and combine a wide range of data from labs, risk scores, paid claims, and external systems.

The solution provides contract performance and improvement opportunities using analytics to track and intervene on target contact metrics. Epic Healthy Planet also promotes patient wellness with integrated health and social care tools that assess patient needs and connect them with the right resources.

11. i2i Population Health

i2i Population Health technology specializes in providing community health solutions that deliver care for the underserved safety net market. As a healthcare interoperability platform, i2i Population Health leverages scalable data integration services to provide connected services to meet on-demand needs.

The solution’s clinic and in-hospital health application combines workflows with unlimited on-demand registries and reports. Providers also benefit from its standard supplemental data feeds bi-weekly or monthly, with expansive data sets such as SDoH and demographics. Care teams then use insights to enhance coordination and tailor individual care plans.

12. NextGen Population Health Analytics

NextGen Population Health Analytics is a care platform created to offer a clear view of your patient population. This comprehensive software incorporates risk management, cost control, revenue optimization, and targeted interventions.

Specifically, NextGen’s referral management capabilities access information on where patients receive health care services, including specialty care at the population and patient level. It then displays these patient insights alongside patient charts in the EHR.

13. Optum Population Health Solutions

Optum Population Health Solutions is built to help employees choose the right doctor and understand their treatment options and medications. Their main areas of focus are case management, condition management, and cancer support.

The platform’s integrated benefits data enables organizations to analyze performance and financial trends against industry norms and prior performance benchmarks. For example, Optum’s dedicated women’s health programs identify related risk factors and educate mothers and families to reduce complications while lowering costs.

14. Oracle Health

Oracle Health’s technology solutions emphasize chronic condition management and prevention. The platform also has a nationwide network of diverse health systems that conduct clinical trials and outcomes research alongside them.

Oracle Health provides advanced SDoH solutions to intervene at the point of care by using evidence-based screening tools and suggested goals. This way, care teams can keep an eye out for vulnerable populations and make targeted and informed interventions.

15. Clarify Healthcare

Clarify Healthcare’s enterprise analytics platform, Atlas, harnesses the power of big data for business and clinical insights. The platform leverages thousands of trained models to cut and harness data to provide case-mix adjusted predictive values for clear insights.

With Atlas, providers can map the patient journey against predetermined benchmarks and recent trends. This way, they can provide personalized recommendations for each patient based on reliable data.

Final thoughts on population health management software

Modern PHM software reimagines care management with robust analytics and reporting capabilities that allow for coordinated, efficient workflows. As a result, this technology helps reduce overall costs through informed resource allocation that prioritizes high-risk populations.

When deciding which software is right for your organization, choose a solution that will scale with your needs and complement your existing workflows. This will make the transition smoother and provide a higher long-term ROI.