Precision Health Economics Appoints Harvard Kennedy School Director As Chief Scientific Officer

LOS ANGELES, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Health economics and policy authority Precision Health Economics (PHE) announced today it has hired Amitabh Chandra, PhD, as chief scientific officer.  PHE works at the highest levels to lead the discussion of the most critical problems in healthcare, including questions of cost, value, and improvement of care delivery.

Chandra is the director of health policy research, at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and professor of public policy at Harvard University; he will continue to serve in these roles. Internationally renowned for his work in health economics, he sits on the Congressional Budget Office's 22-member Panel of Health Advisers with PHE founding partner Dana P. Goldman. Last year Chandra was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, and was awarded the ASHE Medal—given by the American Society of Health Economists to the economist age 40 or under who has made the most significant contributions to the field of health economics.

"As we expand to keep pace with demand, we will augment our existing team of elite-level economists and scientists only with truly exceptional talent.  Our commitment to this strategy is continuing to widen the existing differentiation gap between PHE and our competition," said Glenn Bilawsky, CEO of PHE. "Dr. Chandra has the full complement of skills to shepherd this growing organization: he's a brilliant researcher highly recognized as a leader in health economics, a prolific author and speaker, and is tapped frequently to testify before distinguished committees and advise industry leaders and policy makers."

A research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and at Bonn, Germany's IZA Institute, Chandra's work has been published in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Health Affairs. He is an editor of the Review of Economics and Statistics, a former editor of the Journal of Human Resources, and serves on the editorial boards of Economics Letters and the American Economic Journal.

"Precision Health Economics is the nation's preeminent consulting company in healthcare. Its advice is often sought, and its counsel always meticulous. I am delighted to join PHE's unrivaled team, and strengthen our commitment to increasing value in healthcare."

About Precision Health Economics  
Founded by three renowned health economists from elite universities: Tomas Philipson; Dana Goldman; and Darius Lakdawalla, Precision Health Economics integrates deep technical expertise with practical insights to bring intellectual integrity, academic rigor, and a creative approach to the most challenging problems in healthcare.  PHE has offices across the United States and draws on the research expertise of a network of affiliated academic economists and clinicians from the world's leading universities. PHE's work straddles the policy arena and the clinical field, reaching top decision makers to influence outcomes. For more information, go to www.precisionhealtheconomics.com.

EDITORS NOTE: Photo available on request.

SOURCE Precision Health Economics