Kevin Volpp

Dr. Kevin Volpp is the founding Director of the Penn Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) and the Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has led CHIBE from its start as 1 of 2 original NIH Centers on behavioral economics and health to a Center which has inspired the creation of dozens of programs in behavioral economics and health nationally.

Dr. Volpp’s work focuses on developing and testing innovative ways of applying insights from behavioral economics in improving patient health behavior and increasing health system value by influencing clinician performance. Dr. Volpp oversaw the creation of the world’s first health system Nudge Unit at Penn Medicine. Work led or co-lead by him has served as the foundation for benefit design initiatives using financial incentives for smoking cessation used by many large employers, a prescription refill synchronization program for Humana members, redesign of primary care physician payment for clinicians across Hawaii, a simple health insurance plan called “Humana Simplicity,” and an ‘enhanced active choice’ approach used by tens of millions of CVS members to facilitate receiving automated medication refills. He is the Scientific Lead of the American Heart Association Health Care by Food Initiative, a major research program designed to build evidence on effectiveness and cost effectiveness of programs to improve health through increased access to nutritious food.

Dr. Volpp’s work has been recognized by the NIH Matilda White Riley Award, the John Eisenberg Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians Behavioral Medicine Award, the Association for Clinical and Translational Science Distinguished Investigator Award for Clinical and Translational Science, the American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist Award, and numerous article-of-the-year awards. He has served as a mentor for dozens of individuals who have developed into national leaders in academia, private, and public sector organizations.

Dr. Volpp trained in Medicine and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Wharton School before completing training in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He was a practicing primary care physician and hospitalist for 20 years at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Volpp is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, an editorial board member of NEJM Catalyst, a National Advocacy Committee member for the American Heart Association, a member of the Board of the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), and a Board member and Chair of the Academic and Faculty Affairs Committee of the Lawrenceville School.