Patricia M. Danzon

Past Courses

• ECON039 - MEDICAL ECONOMICS

  Systematic and critical review of the present economic literature on the health care "industry". Topics include the demography and determinants of illness, the demand for curative and preventive care and determinants of recent health cost inflation, the efficacy of markets, and the role of government.

• HCMG202 - ECON & FINCING-HLTHCR DL

  The course provides an application of economic models to demand, supply, and their interaction in the medical economy. Influences on demand, especially health status, insurance coverage, and income will be analyzed. Physician decisions on the pricing and form of their own services, and on the advice they offer about other services, will be considered. Competition in medical care markets, especially for hospital services, will be studied. Special emphasis will be placed on government as demander of medical care services. Changes in Medicare and regulation of managed care are among the public policy issues to be addressed.

• HCMG204 - COMPARATIVE HC SYSTEMS

  This course examines the structure of health care systems in different countries, focusing on financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. We study the relative roles of private sector and public sector insurance and providers, and the effect of system design on cost, quality, efficiency and equity of medical services. Some issues we address are normative: Which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? Other issues are positive: How do these different systems deal with tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? Our main focus is on the systems in four large, prototypical OECD countries--Germany, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom--and then look at other countries with interesting systems- including Italy, Chile, Singapore, Brazil, China and India. We draw lessons for the U.S. from foreign experience and vice versa.

• HCMG215 - MGMT&ECONOFPHARMA,BIOTEC

  This course provides an overview of the management, economic and policy issues facing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The course perspective is global, but with emphasis on the U.S. as the largest and and most profitable market. Critical issues we will examine include: R&D intensive cost structure and rapid technological change; biotech startups and alliances with the pharma industry; pricing and promotion in a complex global marketplace where customers include governments and insurers, as well as physicians, pharmacists and consumers. We use Wharton and industry experts from various disciplines to address these issues.

• HCMG849 - FIN MGMT HEALTH INST

  This course focuses on health care organizations' financial decisions in the changing health care landscape. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to utilize a range of financial tools and techniques for making value-added financial decisions in a variety of important contexts in the health care sector. The course involves case analyses and lectures, including presentations by practitioners with extensive real world experience. The course is organized around cases dealing with publicly-traded health care company valuation, valuation and return on investment of biopharmaceutical and medical technology development projects, valuation and deal structure for startup and early stage health care organizations, health plan pricing and finance, and health care provider risk-sharing arrangements. Each case is accompanied by background on tools, methods, institutions, and markets. Students seeking careers in health care finance and financial decision making. Students with more background will extend and enhance their analytical skills in a variety of important areas.

• HCMG859 - COMPARATIVE HC SYSTEMS

  This course examines the structure of health care systems in different countries, focusing on financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. We study the relative roles of private sector and public sector insurance and providers, and the effect of system design on cost, quality, efficiency and equity of medical services. Some issues we address are normative: Which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? Other issues are positive: How do these different systems deal with the tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? Our focus first on the systems in four large, prototypical OECD countries- Germany, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom -and then look at other developed and emerging countries with interesting systems - including Italy, Chile, Singapore, Brazil, China and India. We will draw lessons for the U.S. from foreign experience and vice versa.

• HCMG863 - MGMT&ECONOFPHARM&MEDTECH

  This course provides an overview of the management, economic and policy issues facing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The course perspective is global, but with emphasis on the U.S. as the largest and most profitable market. Critical issues we will examine include: R&D intensive cost structure with regulation and rapid technological change; strategic challenges of biotech startups; pricing and promotion in a complex global marketplace where customers include governments and insurers, as well as physicians and consumers; intense and evolving M&A, joint ventures, and complex alliances; government regulation of all aspects of business including market access, pricing, promotion, and manufacturing. We use Wharton and industry experts from various disciplines to address these issues.

• HCMG890 - ADVANCED STUDY PROJECT

  HCMG 890-001: This course examines issues related to the Services Sector of thehealth care industry. For those interested in management, investing, or bankingto the health care industry, the services sector will likely be the largest and most dynamic sector within all of health care. We will study key management issues related to a number of different health care services businesses with a focus on common challenges related to reimbursement, regulatory, margin, growth, and competitive issues. We will look at a number of different businesses and subsectors that may have been unfamiliar to students prior to taking the course. We will make extensive use of outside speakers, many of whom will be true industry leaders within different sectors of the health care services industry. Speakers will address the current management issues they face in running their businesses as well as discuss the career decisions and leadership styles that enables them to reach the top of their profession. Students will be asked to develop a plan to both buyout and manage a specific health care services business of their choosing and will present their final plans to a panel of leading Health Care Private Equity investors who will evaluate their analysis. Prerequisites: HCMG 841. Health Care Management MBA majors only Senior healthcare executives and policy leaders will be engaged as guest speakers.

• HCMG900 - PROSEMINAR IN HSR

  900-001 Proseminar in Health Econometrics: This course will cover empirical methods used in economics research with an emphasis on applications in health care and public economics. The methods covered include linear regression, matching, panel data models, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, bunching,qualitative and limited dependent variable models, count data, quantile regressions, and duration models. The discussion will be a mix of theory and application, with emphasis on the latter. The readings consist of a blend of classic and recent methodological and empirical papers in economics . Course requirements include several problem sets, paper presentations, an econometric analysis project and a final exam. The course is open to doctoral students from departments other than Health Care Management with permission from the instructor. 900-002 Proseminar in Health Economics: Models and Methods: This course is intended to provide entering doctoral students with information on the variety of health economics models, methods, topics, and publication outlets valued and used by faculty in the HCMG doctoral program and outside of it. The course has two main parts: the first, to acquaint students with theoretical modeling tools used frequently by health economists. This part of the course involves a number of lectures coupled with students presentations of class projects in a workshop environment. The second part of the course will offer presentations from the health economics, management and operations research community at Penn on a research method or strategy they have found helpful and they think is important for all doctoral students to know.

• HCMG901 - SEM:HLTH CARE COST BEN

  The purpose of this doctoral level course is to investigate the theory and practice of cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis as applied to health care. The three techniques to be examined are cost-effectiveness analysis with single dimensional outcomes, cost effectiveness analysis with multiple attributes (especially in the form of Quality Adjusted Life Years), and economic cost-benefit analysis. Valuation of mortality and morbidity relative to other goods will be emphasized. Students will be expected to develop written critiques of articles in the literature, and to design a new application of one of the techniques as a term project.

• Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award, 2012
• American Risk and Insurance Association, Award for Outstanding Article, for “Alternative Liability Regimes for Medical Injuries: Evidence from Simulation Analysis,” August, 1995
• American Association of Risk and Insurance, Award for Outstanding Article, for “Compensation for Occupational Disease: Evaluating the Options,” Journal of Risk and Insurance, June, 1987
• American Risk and Insurance Association, Elizur Wright Award, for Medical Malpractice: Theory, Evidence and Public Policy, June, 1987

Knowledge @ Wharton

• Is the U.S. Ready for Value-based Pricing of Drugs?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/18/2016
• Why Cuba Stands Tall in Health Care Metrics, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/25/2015
• Technology Increasingly Key to Better Patient Outcomes, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/16/2014
• ‘Trying to Recapture the Magic’: The Strategy Behind the Pharma M&A Rush, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/28/2014
• Sovaldi: Who’s to Blame for the $1,000 a Day Cure?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/16/2014
• Biotech IPOs: What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from a Banner Year, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/22/2014
• Access or Profits? Drug Patent Rulings in India Fuel the Debate, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/10/2013
• Patent Controversy Resumes as Indian Supreme Court Rejects Novartis’ Glivec Claim, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/02/2013
• Accountability in Health Care — Collaboration and Analytics Are Key, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/16/2013
• Health Rates to Rise, but the Expected Impact Is Unclear, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/11/2013
• Fixing Health Care: The Next Big Challenge, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/29/2012
• Sparring Over Sorafenib: How Will Natco’s Move against Bayer Affect Pharma Licensing?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/19/2012
• Mystery Diagnosis: An Era of Uncertainty for the Health Care Sector, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/14/2011
• A Ground-level View of India’s New Opportunities and Challenges, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/26/2010
• A ‘Bigger Foothold’: What Does the Abbott-Piramal Deal Mean for Indian Pharma?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/03/2010
• Pharma Is at Pains to Replace Blockbusters: Has It Found the Cure?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/03/2010
• Take Two Advil and … What Ills Can the Pfizer-Wyeth Merger Cure?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/04/2009
• Avoiding the Tough Issues: The Candidates on Health Care and Entitlements, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/15/2008
• Connecting the Dots between Innovation and Leadership, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/04/2006
• Novartis’s Alex Gorsky: Ensuring that Patients Get Access to the Medicines They Need, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/27/2006
• After Decades of Malaise, the Vaccine Industry Is Getting an Injection, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/02/2005
• Death of a Drug: The Aftermath of Merck’s Recall, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/20/2004
• Can Aventis Fight Off Its Hostile Suitor?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/25/2004
• Insurance Industry Conference Looks at Terrorism, Drug Coverage, Malpractice Insurance and M&As, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/28/2004
• Analyzing Brand-name and Generic Drug Costs in the U.S. and Eight Other Countries, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/19/2003
• Selling Life-Saving Drugs to Poorer Countries: At What Cost?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/06/2002
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Illustrates Woes of Ailing Pharmaceutical Industry, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/17/2002
• The Benefits Are Mutual in New Wave of Biotech/Pharma Alliances, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/13/2002
• In Battle to Lower Employers’ Health Care Costs, Will Employees Become ‘General Contractors’?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/13/2002
• What’s Behind U.S. Drug Companies’ Response to the AIDS Crisis Abroad?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/11/2001
• Decoding the Human Genome: How Will it Impact Business?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/05/2000
• Drug Prices: Let the Competition Begin, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/26/2000
• Will the Glaxo-SmithKline Merger Be Good Therapy?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/20/2000
• Do Drug Companies Make Seniors Overpay?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/08/1999