How Do Health Systems Address Patient Flow When Services Are Misaligned With Population Needs? A Qualitative Study.

To remedy population-capacity misalignment, health system planners should determine whether clusters of population need are separable vs. fused, select an appropriate service model for each population, allocate sufficient capacity, and only then promote mutual accommodation to address exceptions. Overreliance on case-by-case solutions to systemic problems ensures the persistence of population-capacity misalignment.