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Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD

Robert D. Eilers Professor in Health Care Management and Economics
Attending Physician , Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Core faculty member, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Philadelphia VAMC
Fellow, Institute on Aging,Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Senior Fellow, The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania
Executive Director, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
Department: Medicine

Contact information
Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
3641 Locust Walk, room 210
Colonial Penn Center
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: (215) 573-5752
Education:
B.A. (Political Science)
Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, MD, 1992.
M.D. (Medicine)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 1998.
Ph.D. (Health Economics)
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2004.
Post-Graduate Training
Intern in Internal Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 1998-1999.
Resident in Internal Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 1999-2001.
Fellow, Division of General Internal Medicine , Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2001-2004.
Certifications
American Board of Internal Medicine, 2001.
American Board of Internal Medicine, 2011.
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Description of Research Expertise

Quality improvement incentives
Quality of care
Health economics
Racial disparities

Dr. Werner’s research seeks to understand the effect of health care policies and delivery systems on quality of care. In particular, she has examined the role of quality improvement incentives on provider behavior, the organization of health care, racial disparities, and overall health care quality. Her work has empirically investigated numerous unintended consequences to quality improvement incentives and was among the first to recognize that public reporting of quality information may worsen racial disparities. She is currently principal investigator of an R01 from the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (examining how pay-for-performance in hospitals changed the value of health care) and an R01 from the National Institute of Aging (examining the effect of Medicaid pay-for-performance for nursing homes on delivery of nursing home care). She also directs one of five national centers to evaluate the effectiveness of the medical home by the Veterans Health Administration. She has received numerous awards including the Dissertation Award and the Alice Hersh New Investigator Award from AcademyHealth and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Selected Publications

Werner RM, McNutt R: A new strategy to improve quality: rewarding actions rather than measures (invited commentary). JAMA 301(13): 1375-1377, 2009.

Werner RM, Konetzka RT, Kruse GB: The impact of public reporting on unreported quality of care. Health Services Research 44: 379-398, 2009.

Konetzka RT, Werner RM: Disparities in long-term care: building equity into market-based reforms. Medical Care Research and Review 66: 491-521, 2009.

Werner RM, Konetzka RT, Stuart EA, Norton EC, Polsky D, Park J: The impact of public reporting on quality of post-acute care. Health Services Research 44: 1169-1187, 2009.

Werner RM, Bradlow ET, Asch DA: Does hospital performance on process measures directly measure high quality care or is it a marker of unmeasured care? Health Services Research 43: 1464-1484, 2008.

Werner RM, Goldman LE, Dudley RA: Comparison of change in quality of care between safety-net and non-safety-net hospitals. JAMA 299: 2180-2187, 2008.

Werner RM, Asch DA: The unintended consequences of publicly reporting quality information. JAMA 293: 1239-1244, 2005.

Werner RM, Asch DA, Polsky P: Racial profiling: the unintended consequences of coronary artery bypass graft report cards. Circulation 111: 1257-1263, 2005.

Werner RM, Bradlow ET.: Relationship between Medicare's Hospital Compare performance measures and mortality rates. JAMA 296: 2694-2702, 2006 Notes: Erratum in: JAMA 297: 700, 2007

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Last updated: 11/10/2023
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