Kevin G.M. Volpp, MD, Ph.D.
Mark V. Pauly, PhD President’s Distinguished Professor
Senior Fellow, The Leonard Davis Institute, University of Pennsylvania
Founding Director, Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE), University of Pennsylvania
Department: Medicine
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
1120 Blockley Hall
423 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021
423 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021
Office: 215-573-0270
Fax: 215-573-8779
Fax: 215-573-8779
Email:
volpp70@wharton.upenn.edu
volpp70@wharton.upenn.edu
Education:
A.B. (Biology )
Harvard College Cambridge, MA, 1989.
N/A (Rotary Scholar )
Freie Universitat, Berlin, Germany, 1990.
M.D. (Medicine)
University of Pennsylvania, 1998.
Ph.D. M.A. (Health Economics, Public Policy and Management)
The Wharton School, Philadelphia, PA, 1998.
Permanent linkA.B. (Biology )
Harvard College Cambridge, MA, 1989.
N/A (Rotary Scholar )
Freie Universitat, Berlin, Germany, 1990.
M.D. (Medicine)
University of Pennsylvania, 1998.
Ph.D. M.A. (Health Economics, Public Policy and Management)
The Wharton School, Philadelphia, PA, 1998.
Description of Research Expertise
Dr. Volpp is the founding Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE), Division Chief of Health Policy for the Department of Medical Ethics and Policy, and the Founders President’s Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has led CHIBE since its inception turning it into an entity that involves more than 90 faculty members and trainees across the University of Pennsylvania and which was 1 of 2 original NIH Centers nationally on behavioral economics and health.Dr. Volpp’s work focuses on developing and testing innovative ways of applying insights from behavioral economics in improving patient health behavior and increasing value in the health system by influencing provider performance. He has competitively been awarded more than $70 million to lead projects with a variety of employers, insurers, health systems, and consumer companies in testing the impact of different behavioral economic strategies on behavior.
Dr. Volpp has published more than 250 articles, book chapters, and commentaries, and his work has served as the foundation for numerous widely implemented programs such as benefit design initiatives using financial incentives for smoking cessation among GE and CVS employees, a prescription refill synchronization program for Humana members, a simple health insurance plan called “Humana Simplicity”, and an ‘enhanced active choice’ approach used among tens of millions of CVS members to increase the ease of receiving automated medication refills.
Dr. Volpp’s work has been recognized by a number of career achievement awards including the Matilda White Riley Award by the Office of Social and Behavioral Science at NIH, the John Eisenberg Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine, and the Association for Clinical and Translational Science Distinguished Investigator Award for Clinical and Translational Science. Volpp is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, an editorial board member for the NEJM Catalyst, and a principal of the behavioral economics consulting firm VAL Health.
Selected Publications
Volpp KG, Troxel AB, Mehta SJ, Norton L, Zhu J, Lim R, Wang W, Marcus N, Terwiesch C, Caldarella K, Levin T, Relish M, Negin n, Smith-McLallen A, Snyder R, Spettell CM, Drachman B, Kolansky D, Asch DA.: Electronic Reminders, Financial Incentives, and Social Support to Improve Outcomes after Myocardial Infarction (HeartStrong): A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med 177(8): 1093-1101, Aug 2017.Troxel AB, Asch DA, Volpp KG: Statistical issues in pragmatic trials of behavioral economic interventions. Clinical Trials: Journal of the Society for Clinical Trials 13(5): 478-483, Oct 2016.
Shivan J. Mehta, Andrea B. Troxel, Noora Marcus, Christina Jameson, Devon Taylor, David A Asch, Kevin G. Volpp: Participation Rates With Opt-out Enrollment in a Remote Monitoring Intervention for Patients With Myocardial Infarction. JAMA Cardiology 1(7): 847-848, Oct 2016 Notes: DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2016.2374.
Jalpa A. Doshi, Joseph State, Victor Lawnicki, Raymond Lim, Li Pengxiang, Michael Relish, Tova Levin, Selena Boyer, Vrushabh Ladage, Joelle Friedman, Andrea Troxel, Kevin Volpp: A Synchronized Prescription Refill Program Improved Medication Adherence. Health Affairs 35(8): 1504-1512, Aug 2016.
VanEpps EM, Volpp KG, Halpern SD: A nudge toward participation: Improving clinical trial enrollment with behavioral economics. Sci Transl Med 8(348): 348fs13, July 2016.
Jeffrey T. Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH, Andrea B. Troxel, ScD,George Loewenstein, PhD,Laurie A. Norton, MA,Dana Gatto, BS,Yuanyuan Tao,MS,Jingsan Zhu,MS,MBA, Heather Schofield, MS,PhD, Judy A. Shea, PhD, David A. Asch, MD, MB,Thomas Pellathy,PhD, Jay Driggers, MBA, Kevin G. Volpp, MD,PhD: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Employer Matching of Employees’ Monetary Contributions to Deposit Contracts to Promote Weight Loss. American Journal of Health Promotion 30(6): 441-451, July 2016 Notes: DOI:10.1177/0890117116658210.
Patel MS, Day SC, Halpern SD, Hanson CW, Martinez JR, Honeywell S Jr, Volpp KG.: Generic Medication Prescription Rates After Health System-Wide Redesign of Default Options Within the Electronic Health Record. JAMA Intern Med 176(6): 847-848, June 2016.
Patel MS, Asch DA, Troxel AB, Fletcher MA, Osman-Koss R, Brady JL, Wesby L, Ulrich V, Zhu J, Wang W, Volpp KG. : Framing Financial Incentives to Increase Physical Activity Among Overweight and Obese Adults - A Randomized, Controlled Trial. Annals of Internal Medicine 164(6): 385-394, Mar 2016.
Patel MS, Asch DA, Troxel AB, Fletcher M, Osman-Koss R, Brady J, Wesby L, Hilbert V, Zhu J, Wang W, Volpp KG: Premium-Based Financial Incentives Did Not Promote Workplace Weight Loss in A 2013-15 Study. Health Aff 35(1): 71-79, Jan 2016.