Economist Channel

Kevin Volpp, University of Pennsylvania, is the Janet and John Haas President’s Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics and Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School. He is also the founding Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE), Vice Chairman for Health Policy for the Department of Medical Ethics and Policy, and Director (with Karen Glanz) of the Penn CDC Prevention Research Center.

Dr. Volpp’s work focuses on developing and testing innovative ways of applying insights from behavioral economics in improving patient health behavior and affecting provider performance. He has done work with a variety of employers, insurers, health systems, and consumer companies in testing the effectiveness of different behavioral economic strategies in addressing tobacco dependence, obesity, and medication non-adherence. He has competitively been awarded more than $60 million to lead or co-lead studies funded by the NIH; the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation; the CDC; VA Health Services Research and Development; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Hewlett Foundation; the Commonwealth Foundation; the Aetna Foundation; Mckinsey; CVS Caremark; Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield; Hawaii Medical Services Association; Merck; Humana; Aramark; Weight Watchers; and Discovery (South Africa).

His work earned him the 2015 Matilda White Riley Award, issued by the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The Matilda White Riley Award is given in recognition of an outstanding behavioral or social scientist whose research has contributed to both the deepening of knowledge and its application in a manner that furthers NIH’s mission of improving health.

See https://hcmg.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/volpp70/ or https://chibe.upenn.edu/ for more details about Kevin’s work. An excellent overview of his work including an interview with Kevin is available at https://obssr.od.nih.gov/kevin-volpps-alchemy-turning-principles-of-behavioral-economics-into-healthier-people/

Professor Volpp is visiting Galway to speak at the MedTech Rising conference that will take place at the Radisson Hotel on December 6 and 7. See http://www.medtechrising.ie/#Agenda for more details.