MEDICAL ETHICS & HEALTH POLICY

PERELMAN SCHOOL OF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

The Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, based in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, stands as one of the premier institutions of research and education in medical ethics and health policy in the world. Under the leadership of Drs. Steven Joffe and Kevin Volpp, the Department’s distinguished faculty produce and disseminate highly impactful scholarship and advise policymakers and governments both domestically and internationally. The Department also hosts three leading master’s degree programs: a Master of , a Master of Science in Medical Ethics, and an online Master of Health Care Innovation.

The Department pioneered the concept of bringing together medical ethics and health policy under one roof. By studying and teaching these fields in an integrated manner, the Department aims to ensure that health policy is ethically sound and that ethical norms have impact through evidence-based policies.

Our Department at a Glance Our Research Areas

AGING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY 22 2011 170 PRIMARY YEAR OUR PUBLICATIONS GLOBAL HEALTH AND FACULTY DEPARTMENT IN 2020 BIOETHICS WAS CREATED BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS RESEARCH ETHICS HEALTH CARE INNOVATION HEALTH EQUITY 10,000 150+ APPEARANCES IN STUDENTS ENROLLED MENTAL HEALTH THE MEDIA IN OUR MASTER’S IN 2020 PROGRAMS HEALTH ECONOMICS PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS FOOD POLICY HEALTH CARE POLICY ETHICS $16 NEUROETHICS MILLION SCIENCE POLICY AWARDED SPONSORED ETHICS OF RESOURCE RESEARCH FUNDS IN FY20 ALLOCATION Our Impact in Medical Ethics

the effectiveness of systems for and local officials to determine the protecting human participants in public health and economic steps research. Current projects focus necessary to get the virus under on developing a system of IRB control, to deliver immediate relief precedent, understanding the scope to working families, and to address of IRB expertise and perspective, the unequal impact of the pandemic studying how IRBs protect vulnerable on communities of color and other participants, and examining the IRB’s disadvantaged groups. Dr. Emanuel role in promoting justice, among others. also worked with a group of global experts and our department’s to Dominic Sisti, PhD, applies the Matthew McCoy, PhD, develop the approaches and methods of medical “Fair Priority Model,” which provides ethics to understand and meet the the framework for just global challenges of mental health care distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. across clinical, research, and policy contexts. One of his research interests Emily Largent, JD, PhD, RN, and Jason is mental health in incarcerated Karlawish, MD, who has a secondary individuals. Dr. Sisti works with an appointment in the Department, wrote interdisciplinary group of researchers an influentialJAMA Neurology Viewpoint made up of clinicians, policy experts, on the challenges that arise when and prison reformers to develop a Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials end Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD, MBE, is novel line of bioethics research that early. This viewpoint was covered in the founder and co-chair of AEREO: examines ethics and policy questions and resulted in a The Consortium to Advance Effective in correctional mental health care. National Institute on Aging-supported Research Ethics Oversight. AEREO work group that Dr. Largent co-chairs brings together 70+ experts in to Zeke Emanuel, MD, PhD, served identify interventions to improve Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), on then President-elect Joe communication with and supports research ethics, and empirical Biden’s Transition COVID-19 Advisory for participants when clinical trials methods to advance the shared Board. This board worked with state end early. mission of evaluating and improving

Steven Joffe Ezekiel Emanuel Autumn Fiester Emily Largent Holly Fernandez Lynch Matthew McCoy

Jon Merz Jonathan Moreno Pamela Sankar Harald Schmidt Dominic Sisti Anna Wexler

University of Pennsylvania MEDICAL ETHICS 423 Guardian Drive & HEALTH POLICY Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021

@PennMEHP https://medicalethicshealthpolicy.med.upenn.edu Our Impact in Health Policy

of unarmed Black Americans. These Electric employees, CVS employees, findings informed historic statements and members of 54 other employers. by the American Medical Association, This led to benefit design changes at American Public Health Association, GE and CVS and contributed to 44% of American College of Physicians, and large employers now using incentives Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, for smoking cessation. which identified police violence – and structural racism more generally – as Harsha Thirumurthy, PhD, and a critical public health issue. Senator Alison Buttenheim, PhD, MBA, who Elizabeth Warren and Representative has a secondary appointment in the Ayanna Pressley cited this research in a Department, received a grant from letter to the U.S. Secretary of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Human Services. to establish a first-of-its-kind nudge unit focused on HIV prevention in Since 2017, Amol Navathe, MD, PhD, South Africa. In partnership with the has provided guidance and conducted University of Witwatersrand’s Health research to inform the roll-out of a Economics and Epidemiology Research new HMSA (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Office (HE²RO), Drs. Thirumurthy Hawaii) provider payment initiative and Buttenheim launched Indlela: Research by Christina Roberto, that shifted primary care provider Behavioural Insights for Better Health. PhD, on Philadelphia’s “soda tax” payment from a fee-for-service model demonstrated that after one year of to a new value-based framework. This Norma B. Coe, PhD, leads The Policy its implementation, taxed beverage payment model, which incentivizes and Economics of Disability, Aging, purchases dropped by 38%. This providers for both efficiency and Long Term Care (PEDAL) study provided evidence that taxing and effectiveness, has now been Lab, which studies issues centered sugar-sweetened beverages is one of implemented throughout most of the around aging and disability, the most effective policy strategies state of Hawaii. including insurance design, health to reduce the purchase of these care, long-term care, end-of-life unhealthy drinks. After a pilot study led by Kevin Volpp, care, and Alzheimer’s Disease and MD, PhD, indicated that incentives can Related Dementias, and to provide Research by Atheendar double smoking cessation program policymakers the evidence-base to Venkataramani, MD, PhD, enrollment, Volpp’s team conducted improve care for older adults and demonstrated the spillover mental three trials that demonstrated a tripling reduce spending. health consequences of police killings of smoking cessation rates in General

Kevin Volpp Ezekiel Emanuel Norma Coe Laura Gibson Amol Navathe

Christina Roberto Heather Schofield Aaron Schwartz Harsha Thirumurthy Atheendar Ravi Parikh Venkataramani

University of Pennsylvania MEDICAL ETHICS 423 Guardian Drive & HEALTH POLICY Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021

@PennMEHP https://medicalethicshealthpolicy.med.upenn.edu