Health Economics

Over the past ten years we have studied payment changes and how these changes affect many insurers (public and private). We study new forms of contracting between health plans and providers in order to determine the effects of these changes on care quality and utilization. Our work embraces not only the general population but also those with mental illnesses and those underserved by traditional mechanisms.

Statistical Methods

HCP has consistently maintained a high standard of expertise in statistical methods for research based on the full integration of statisticians into research teams, either as principal investigators or lead co-investigators. Our researchers address the methodological challenges common in health services research using the full range of existing methods and developing new methods useful in our projects and to the field in general.

Data and Data Science

HCP maintains one of the most comprehensive data archives of population-based health care information for research purposes held within Harvard Medical School and Harvard University. We currently house: administrative billing claims at the national, state, and private payer levels; international, national, and regional survey data; clinical data at the procedure level in clinical registries; and linked billing and electronic health record data. We link and will continue to link patients’ experiences over time across multiple settings. 

Comparative Effectiveness Research

HCP started with extensive research in comparative effectiveness research centered on problems in radiology. Since then, innovations in methodology, clinical epidemiology, and decision science have increased our ability to perform cutting-edge analyses in other areas with the potential to improve the health of individuals and populations. These analyses include the effects of different drugs in lung cancer patients, studies of different interventions and types of interventions in patients with coronary artery disease.