Precision Heath Economics

Precision Health Economics (PHE) is a boutique healthcare consulting firm based in Los Angeles, CA. The company was founded in 2005 by three leading health economists: Dana Goldman and Darius Lakdawalla from the University of Southern California and Tomas Philipson from the University of Chicago. PHE has over 25 full-time employees and makes use of a wide network of academic partners at leading research universities. PHE aims to solve complex healthcare policy questions through the use of sophisticated economic modeling and forecasting, quantitative analysis of observational data, cost-benefit analyses, comparative effectiveness research, and cost effectiveness analysis. PHE is also involved in the development of patient registries and the deployment of surveys focused on the value of patient-reported outcomes. PHE regularly publishes in academic journals such as Health Affairs, New England Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Managed Care, along with publications like New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and The Economist.

Mission Statement

PHE was founded with a dual mission: First, to develop high-value solutions for clients in the health care industry using sophisticated data-driven analysis tailored to each client’s strategic needs. Second, to improve public policy through insightful, issue-driven research.

Achievements

In the years since its inception, PHE’s impact has been widely felt in the areas of health economics and health outcomes research. A 2005 paper by PHE published in forum for Health Economics and Policy was the first to demonstrate that manufacturers of effective therapies have captured only a small fraction of the total societal benefits of new treatments. The vast majority of benefits go directly to patients. This research garnered national attention and awards. In May 2009, PHE presented a study assessing the value of new health technologies to the NICE Kennedy Commission, which provides recommendations for the development of UK reimbursement policy. Partners of PHE have been awarded such prestigious prizes as the Eugene Garfield Economic Impact Prize, the Milken Institute Distinguished Economic Research Award, and the Kenneth Arrow Award of the International Health Economics Association.

The Future Elderly Model

PHE has been routinely cited for its Future Elderly Model (FEM), an economic model created by Dr. Goldman and colleagues that is “designed to predict the future costs and health status of the elderly and explore what current trends or future shifts imply for policy.” The Future Elderly Model (FEM) is a demographic and economic simulation model designed to predict the future costs and health status of the elderly and explore what current trends or future shifts imply for policy. The model uses a representative sample of approximately 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and over drawn from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Surveys, national surveys that ask Medicare beneficiaries about chronic conditions, use of health care services, medical care spending, and health insurance coverage. Each beneficiary in the sample is linked to Medicare claims records to track actual medical care use and costs over time. The FEM has attracted national attention and funding from NIH, CMS, DOL, and others.

See Also

Dana Goldman

Darius Lakdawalla

Tomas J. Philipson