Health status of the community becoming focus of MHS (Mercy Health Services) system. Interview by Donald E.L. Johnson.

Since hospitals exist to stabilize and improve the health of the people they serve, they should form community health care systems that offer the full spectrum of services in an organized way, says Edward J. Connors, president of Mercy Health Services, in the following interview with Donald E.L. Johnson, editor and publisher of Health Care Strategic Management. Skills in epidemiology are desperately needed to accomplish this, as well as skills in statistics, information systems and outcomes measurement. Connors believes that a consensus has formed on the core content of health status measurement. Hospitals should start building the information base needed to improve the health status of their target population.