Kevin Volpp

Past Courses

• HCIN602 - BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS

  Behavioral economics is a relatively new field at the intersection of economics and psychology. This course offers an introduction to behavioral economics and its applications to health and health care. In it, we will examine the key conceptual underpinnings of the field. We will discuss in detail the structure of the choice environment and the ways that people are influenced by how choices are structured. We will consider the design of incentives and various approaches used to "supercharge" incentive programs using behavioral economics principles. We will consider the use of social incentives and social comparisons as a way of achieving better physician performance. We will conclude with a description of how behavioral economics is used in public policy, as well as the interesting question of when a "nudge" becomes a shove.

• HCIN605 - APPLYING BEHAVIORAL ECON

  Analyze a case, define a behavioral economics intervention, sketch a behavioral roadmap, and write a proposal for the intervention.

• HCIN608 - INS DESIGN & HEALTH LAW

  This is a 6-week, 1 cu, online course that pairs two complementary course topics. In the first 3 weeks, you will study Health Insurance and Benefit Design with Kevin G. Volpp, MD, PhD. In the final 3 weeks, you will study Health Law Fundamentals with Penn Law Dean Theodore Ruger. Health Insurance and Benefit Design (Volpp) advances your understanding of recent trends in health insurance and the complexity of benefit design, including some of the trade-offs insurers and employers are taking to provide greater value for their beneficiaries. Use this knowledge to analyze programs and identify opportunities for future innovation in health insurance and benefit design. Health Law Fundamentals (Ruger) examines the legal and regulatory aspects of health care in the United States, including statutes, regulations, common law, and market forces, and discusses how they shape the health care system. Utilize this knowledge to analyze the validity and scope of policy documents that govern health care in the United States and evaluate complex scenarios in terms of health law.

• HCIN6080 - Health Insurance Dsgn & Value

  This is a 6-week, 1 cu, online course that pairs two complementary course topics. In the first 3 weeks, you will study Health Insurance and Benefit Design with David Asch, MD, MBA and Kevin G. Volpp, MD, PhD. In the final 3 weeks, you will study Driving Value in Health Care with Lee Fleisher, MD. Strategies for Health Insurance and Benefit Design: Recent efforts to increase the amount of health produced through health insurance benefits relative to the cost have utilized a number of strategies. These have included high deductible health plans, price transparency, value-based insurance design, simplifying health plan designs, and providing incentives geared to influencing utilization. In this course, we will discuss some of the main challenges facing health insurers, efforts to reduce growth in entitlement spending, and research that uses on the effectiveness of different strategies to modify behavior through the use of incentives embedded within health insurance design. This course will emphasize both understanding and practical applications of this knowledge through a combination of lectures and interviews with expert practitioners. Following completion of this course, students will have a deeper understanding of some of the tradeoffs inherent in the approaches insurers are taking to provide greater value and health improvement for their beneficiaries. Paired with Driving Value in Health Care. We explore methods for analyzing value drivers and survey strategies to improve value (defined as quality over cost) in a health care system. Most policy experts agree that by focusing on value, we can align incentives for different groups within the health care system to address our most pressing problems. This course gives you the tools to do that by examining topics including the determinants of value, methodologies for understanding value drivers, and real-world examples of improving value through quality improvement. Through your work, you will identify gaps in quality, track inefficiencies in the patient experience, and ultimately build a persuasive presentation focused on reducing low-value care.

• HPR 951 - HPR THESIS I

  Each student completes a mentored research project that includes a thesis proposal and a thesis committee and results in a publishable scholarly product. Prerequisite: Course only open to Masters of Science in Health Policy Research students.

• HPR 952 - HPR THESIS II

  Each student completes a mentored research project that includes a thesis proposal and a thesis committee and results in a publishable scholarly product. Prerequisite: Course only open to Masters of Science in Health Policy Research students.

• Article-of-the-Year Award, “Effect of Financial Incentives on Physicians, Patients, or Both on Lipid Levels”, Academy Heath Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 2016 Description

• Philadelphia Business Journal Innovation Award, 2012
• Elected to Association of American Physicians (AAP), 2012
• Elected to Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences (IOM), 2012
• British Medical Journal Group Awards for “Translating Research into Practice” for work on Financial Incentives and Smoking Cessation implemented by General Electric nationally for 152,000 employees January, 2010
• Society of General Internal Medicine Outstanding Research Paper of the Year for Volpp KG, Troxel AB, Pauly MV, et al. New England Journal of Medicine; 2009; 360:699-709, 2010
• Time Magazine Most Significant Advances in Health 2009 A-Z. Work descibed under “I” for “Incentives”, 2009
• Elected to American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), 2008
• Best Paper Award – AcademyHealth Annual R esearch Meeting (with A Rosen, P Romano, P Rosenbaum, J Silber) – “Impact of ACGME Duty Hours on Mortality Among Patients in VA Hospitals” – one of three highest rated abstracts our of about 1700 submitted., 2007
• Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Award, AcademyHealth, for “exceptional promise for future contributions to health services research”, 2007
• Society of General Internal Medicine Outstanding Junior Investigator Award, 2006
• John Thompson Award from Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) for outstanding accomplishments in health services research as a junior investigator, 2006
• Presidential Award for Early Career Scientistis and Engineers (PECASE) – recognized at White House by President Bush with highest honor given by US government for early career scientists, 2005
• Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) Distinguished Investigator Award for Translation from Clinical Use into Public Benefit and Policy. “Award for Career Achievement and Contribution to Clinical and Translational Science”, 1970
• Matilda White Riley Award For Contributions to Social and Behavioral Science, 20th anniversary of the Office of Social and Behavioral Sciences Research, NIH, 1970
• World Economic Forum – chosen to serve on Global Advisory Council on Behavior, 1970

Knowledge @ Wharton

• When — and How — Should the U.S. Economy Reopen?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 5/12/2020
• How Firms Can Convince Employees to Quit Smoking, Knowledge @ Wharton - 8/28/2018
• How Behavioral Economics Could Solve America’s Health Care Woes, Knowledge @ Wharton - 5/12/2017
• How to Convince Workers to Quit Smoking – by Making a Bet, Knowledge @ Wharton - 5/22/2015
• Why Some Innovation Tournaments Succeed and Others Fail, Knowledge @ Wharton - 2/20/2014
• Using ‘The Hunger Games’ to Encourage Healthier Choices, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/19/2013
• Dieting in the Digital Age, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/4/2013