Breakfast Seminar: Frank Wharam, Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center

Out-of-pocket costs for cancer care have increased dramatically over the last decade, partly due to the expansion of high-deductible health insurance. This talk will explore trends in out-of-pocket costs among cancer patients and discuss effects of high-deductible health plans on cancer screening. It will share early results of a study examining whether high-deductible health plans are associated with delays in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Frank Wharam, MB, BCh, BAO, MPH, is an Associate Professor and a General Internist at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. He is director of the Division of Health Policy and Insurance Research in the Department of Population Medicine (DPM) and site director of DPM’s Harvard Medical School General Internal Medicine fellowship. He trained at Duke in Internal Medicine and completed General Internal Medicine and Medical Ethics fellowships at Harvard Medical School. He conducts health services research on the impact of health policies on health care quality and vulnerable populations. Dr. Wharam has expertise in patient and physician incentives for efficient care, analysis of large databases, understanding nuances of health insurance benefit designs, and understanding how medical care can be accurately assessed using health insurance claims data. He leads or has led seven major projects examining effects of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) on appropriate health care and has published early studies of modern HDHPs. He co-leads the Harvard site’s NIDDK/CDC NEXT-D study (1U58DP02719) that examines the impact of HDHPs on diabetes quality, outcomes, and disparities and he is the Principal Investigator of an analysis of the longer term impact of HDHPs on diabetes complications (R01 DK100304). In addition, he is the Principal Investigator of an NCI study (1R01CA172639) examining breast cancer outcomes among HDHP members, and a Principal Investigator of a PCORI project (IHS-1408-20393) assessing high-deductible insurance and bipolar disorder. Dr. Wharam has also been Principal Investigator and co-investigator of an examination of the impact of a regional Massachusetts HDHP on a spectrum of outcomes including outpatient visits, laboratory and radiology testing, cancer screening, pediatric care, maternity care, medication use, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Finally, he is a General Internist physician dedicated to caring for patients in the Harvard Vanguard health system.

The Cancer Outcomes Research Program Breakfast Seminar Series is organized by Drs. Ethan Basch, Stephanie Wheeler, and Matthew Nielsen. Please arrive at 7:45am to join us for a hot breakfast buffet prior to the start of our 8:00am meeting. Parking is available at the Rams Head parking deck next door; we will give you vouchers to park for free.