In JAMA Viewpoint, UPenn PRC Director Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, discusses complexities in physician motivators

Dec 7, 2015

In the Dec. 1, 2015 issue of JAMA, UPenn PRC Director Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, joins Timothy J. Judson, MD, MPH, University of California/San Francisco, and Allan S. Detsky, MD, PhD, University of Toronto, in discussing the complexities of determining the right mix of physician motivators to achieve the “value goal” in health care.  Noting “in the context of health care, it is generally more difficult to determine quality. Health care comprises both amenities, which can be easily seen, and technical proficiency, which is difficult for a non-expert to assess,” Volpp and co-authors explore how extrinsic and intrinsic motivators can be effective or ineffective, depending on several factors.

 

Read the paper here.

 

UPenn PRC Director, Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, speaking @ Quality Talks about how health behaviors affect health outcomes

Nov 30, 2015

Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, UPenn PRC Director, founding Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the Leonard Davis Institute (LDI CHIBE) and Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Quality Talks about the science of motivation, health care providers as “choice architects” for their patients and how health behaviors affect health outcomes.

The video is no longer available.

 

Preliminary Data Show that Electronic Pill Bottles Help People Remember to Take Their Medication

Sep 29, 2015

David Asch, MD, MBA, UPenn PRC investigator

An ongoing project headed up by the PRC’s Kevin Volpp and David Asch was cited in a Washington Post article. The study focuses on how behavioral economics can be an effective strategy for increasing medication adherence.  Researchers at Penn gave 1,000 patients with heart disease “electronic pill bottles” that would light up and beep and notified a designated friend or relative (as well as their doctor) to remind the patient if they didn’t comply within a few days.  Those who took their medications became eligible for a lottery to win a cash prize.  Preliminary data suggest a big improvement in adherence compared with a control group.

Read the article in the Washington Post, by Lenny Bernstein, here.

Nudging Students Towards Healthier Food Choices: An Editorial by UPenn PRC Director Kevin Volpp

Jul 23, 2015

In an editorial in JAMA Pediatrics, UPenn PRC Director Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, and Mitesh Patel, MD, MBA, MS examine the value of a behavioral economics approach to research addressing the need to improve nutrition for and lower obesity in children in the U.S.

Behavioral economics is a field that recognizes that individuals do not always behave rationally when making decisions. When choosing what to eat, children are particularly influenced by the environment in which food is presented. Choice architecture is the application of behavioral economic principles to the design of environments in which decisions are made. While there is a significant opportunity to nudge students toward healthier food choices, there is a lack of rigorous evaluation of such interventions in real-world settings.

Despite numerous efforts to improve the food consumption of America’s youth, rates of obesity among school-aged children have not changed over the past decade. Strategies that are most likely to encourage healthier food choices are those that reflect individuals’ rational preferences (e.g., making food taste better) and apply insights from behavioral economics to better design choice architecture.

Read the article here.

Patel MS, Volpp KG. Nudging Students Toward Healthier Food Choices—Applying Insights From Behavioral Economics. JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(5):425–426. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0217

Behavioral Economics Intervention For Food Allergies

Jul 23, 2015

Adolescents and young adults with food allergies are at increased risk of adverse events, including death from anaphylaxis. Epinephrine is the cornerstone of emergency response, yet few individuals with serious food allergies consistently carry their emergency medication. Behavioral economics offers promising, previously untapped opportunities for behavior change in this arena.

Carolyn C. Cannuscio, ScD, and David Grande, MD, were part of a team of researchers who tested the effectiveness of modest financial incentives in promoting the carrying of epinephrine and to evaluate the acceptability of text messaging for delivering reminders and key health messages to young adults with food allergies.

The study raises important questions for future work; first, because epinephrine carriage rates were depressingly low, underscoring the urgency for further behavioral research to understand and improve food allergy management practices. And second, text messaging alone might be a highly feasible, relatively low-cost intervention model.  Advocacy groups and device manufacturers—who have a vested interest in encouraging adherence—could be potential allies in implementing and testing future interventions such as the one evaluated in the present study.

In conclusion, this study’s findings are a promising step for young adults with food allergies, suggesting opportunities for minimizing morbidity and mortality in this high-risk group.

Read the article here.

Cannuscio C, Dupuis R, Graves A, Seymour J, Kounaves S, Strupp E, Leri D, Frasso R, Grande D, Meisel Z. A behavioral economics intervention to encourage epinephrine-carrying among food-allergic adults: a randomized controlled trial. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Sept 2015, 115:3, 234-240.