Source: Devex, November 23, 2016 CHIBE’s George Loewenstein was interviewed by global development media platform, Devex, on his research on information avoidance, wherein individuals choose not to know information even though it is free and could improve their decision-making. Loewenstein describes how information avoidance can explain poor choices, and how this knowledge can be used to inform development policy. Information avoidance can also offer insight into increasingly polarized views on science. Loewenstein told Devex that “as science develops and new forms of data and data analysis capabilities emerge, you might think this would lead to convergence about scientific issues, but…
Source: Medical Economics, November 9, 2016 Modern Medicine reports on a new study by CHIBE Director Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, showing that 69 percent of health care providers are using patient engagement to get patients more involved in their own care, while that number should be closer to 100 percent. “Achieving sustained behavioral change requires doctors to be involved in the day-to-day lives of their patients, not just during the patient’s appointments—and the most effective way doctors can do this is by utilizing patient engagement tools,” Volpp says.
Source: Forbes, November, 8, 2016 A Forbes article addresses an ongoing debate around work hour limits imposed on medical and surgical residents and cites a 2012 study led by CHIBE Director, Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, which found that cognitive performance of residents increased with protected sleep times.
Source: Penn LDI eMagazine, November 2, 2016 On October 27 and 28, 2016, CHIBE held its ninth and largest-ever retreat of scientists collaborating through its ongoing NIH P30 Center of Excellence Roybal research program. The Penn-CMU Roybal Center is a partnership between the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) at the Leonard Davis Institute and CMU’s Center for Behavioral and Decision Research (CBDR). Also attending were affiliated scientists from Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Duke, NYU, Fordham, Rutgers and Case Western.
Source: Time, November 2, 2016 Time magazine interviewed Mitesh Patel, MD, MBA, MS to hear his take on the value of the new Apple Watch and other wearables for tracking fitness activity. “Patel says wearables are most useful for consumers who are already focused on their fitness. Simply giving someone a new gizmo isn’t enough to change behaviors in a sustained way, particularly if the user has low motivation to begin with.”
Source: Forbes, October, 25, 2016 In an op-ed for Forbes, Mitesh Patel, MD, MBA, MS discusses the application of behavioral economics principles to electronic health records (EHRs), particularly in relation to generic prescriptions in light of increasing drug costs. Dr. Patel says “Because EHRs have become ubiquitous, how they are designed impacts people across the country—for better or for worse. Behavioral modifications to the EHR interface can ensure that more patients are prescribed the lower-cost generic option when it is available.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Fox5NY, October 17, 2016 In a study published in the Journal of Health Economics this year, George Loewenstein, Joseph Price and Kevin Volpp presented findings from a field experiment testing whether short-run incentives can create habit formation in children. Over a 3- or 5-week period, students received an incentive for eating a serving of fruits or vegetables during lunch. The study found that providing small incentives doubled the fraction of children eating at least one serving of fruits or vegetables. Two months after the end of the intervention, the consumption rate at schools remained 21%…
Source: US News & World Report, October 13, 2016 CHIBE’s Mitesh Patel, MD, MBA, MS comments in U.S. News & World Report about a recent study showing that watch-like wristbands that monitor heart rate may not offer true readings during exercise. Patel, who was not involved in the research, said, “further study is needed to determine which devices are more reliable for use in clinical care.”
Source: CHOP Cornerstone The CHIBE-developed mobile health platform, Way to Health, was featured in two recent mHealth project showcases held at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. CHOP Cornerstone reports: “The Way to Health platform made multiple appearances at the mHealth Project Showcase. This Penn-developed technology includes a mobile-friendly web-based platform that automates healthy behavior interventions, leverages remote monitoring technology, and capitalizes on behavioral economics principles. The technology is in use in studies assessing text-message reminders for adherence to asthma medication (tracked via a smart sensor on the inhaler), a study of post-operative walking in adults (tracked with a wearable fitness…
Source: Huffington Post, September 29, 2016 In a Huffington Post blog, CHIBE Fellow Joshua Liao, MD discusses his recent JAMA article on the value of using medical professional norms as a context for social comparisons between physicians. “Because patients can be negatively affected when doctors are compared to each other, leaders and policymakers should guard against unintended consequences in all circumstances by contextualizing comparisons within a set of values that reflect appropriateness and patient well-being,” says Liao.