While medical-technological interventions undergo robust research and design protocol to “come to market,” there is no formal development “process” for care management programs serving complex populations. Absent a formalized development process, providers and policymakers are often called on to answer the fundamental question: Does this complex care program work?

In this brief, author David Labby, MD, PhD, former chief medical officer for Health Share of Oregon and a long-time innovator of care improvements for vulnerable populations, proposes a four-phase framework to help guide the development and refinement of programs targeting this population.