Paul Fishman's research portfolio is broader than most. From smoking cessation to mental health, cancer screening to systems change, his work as an economist is about figuring out how health care systems can make a compelling business case for doing the right thing.
 
Known for important work in risk adjustment and smoking economics, Dr. Fishman endeavors to identify health care programs that hit the sweet spot between effectiveness and efficiency. To this end, he provided economic expertise on two recent high-profile studies at Group Health Research Institute (GHRI)—a randomized trial of Web-based care for hypertension and a study of the prevalence, health impact, and costs of intimate partner violence (also known as domestic violence). Other areas where Dr. Fishman has led or contributed to key findings include evaluating Group Health's patient-centered access initiative, determining cost impacts of comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression, and looking at the long-term costs and outcomes of breast cancer screening.

Another central interest for Dr. Fishman is developing methods for analyzing changes in costs over time, especially those related to modifiable health behaviors, such as smoking. Abundant data exist on the clinical outcomes of typical smoke-quit patterns, but little is known about the effects on health care costs as people move in and out of smoking behavior. Dr. Fishman is interested in studying the natural history of smoking cessation in part because smoking is representative of other health behaviors—it involves addiction and social cues—and thus generates insights potentially exportable to other conditions.

Dr. Fishman has enjoyed an active teaching role in various departments at the University of Washington (UW) since 1986 and is currently affiliate associate professor in the UW School of Public Health. He often mentors his students in their research pursuits, including a 2003 study of the role of health data in preventing genocide, led by his former student Reva Adler, MD, now a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Fishman also serves as a frequent grant and journal reviewer and is a member of several professional organizations, including the International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research and the Society of Research in Nicotine and Tobacco.

Related information:

• Dr. Fishman's UW School of Public Health profile
• International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research
• Society of Research in Nicotine and Tobacco

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Recent publications

Ritzwoller DP, Carroll N, Delate T, O'Keeffe-Rossetti M, Fishman PA, Loggers ET, Aiello Bowles EJ, Elston-Lafata J, Hornbrook MC. Validation of electronic data on chemotherapy and hormone therapy use in HMOs. Med Care. 2012 Apr 23 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed

Hsu C, Coleman K, Ross TR, Johnson E, Fishman PA, Larson EB, Liss D, Trescott C, Reid RJ. Spreading a patient-centered medical home redesign: a case study. J Ambul Care Manage. 2012;35(2):99-108. PubMed

Green BB, Anderson ML, Cook AJ, Catz S, Fishman P, McClure JB, Reid R. Using body mass index data in the electronic health record to calculate cardiovascular risk. Am J Prev Med. 2012;42:342-7. PubMed

Salloum RG, Hornbrook MC, Fishman PA, Ritzwoller DP, O'Keeffe Rossetti MC, Elston Lafata J. Adherence to surveillance care guidelines after breast and colorectal cancer treatment with curative intent. Cancer. 2012 Mar 20. doi: 10.1002/cncr.27544. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Fishman PA, Johnson EA, Coleman K, Larson EB, Hsu C, Ross TR, Liss D, Tufano J, Reid RJ. Impact on seniors of the patient-centered medical home: evidence from a pilot study. Gerontologist. 2012 Mar 15. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Bohl AA, Phelan EA, Fishman PA, Harris JR. How are the costs of care for medical falls distributed? The costs of medical falls by component of cost, timing, and injury severity. Gerontologist. 2012 Mar 8. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Fishman PA, Ding V, Hubbard R, Ludman EJ, Pabiniak C, Stewart C, Morales L, Simon GE. Impact of deductibles on initiation and continuation of psychotherapy for treatment of depression. Health Serv Res. 2012 Feb 29. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01388.x. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed

Hsu C, Coleman K, Ross TR, Johnson E, Fishman P, Larson E, Liss D, Trescott C, Reid RJ. Spreading a patient-centered medical home redesign using Lean: a case study. J Amb Care Manage. 2012;35(2):99-108.

Grossman D, Fishman P, Beck A, Reid R, Ritzwoller D, Martin D, Henrikson N, Hubbard R, Scrol A. Quasi-experimental evaluation of a value-based health plan design among healthcare employees. Clin Med Res. 2011;9(3-4):173-4.

Hornbrook M, Fishman P, Ritzwoller D, Lafata JE, O'Keeffe-Rosetti M. C-C1-01: Incremental health care resource costs by phase of cancer care: aged versus non-aged patients. Clin Med Res. 2011;9(3-4):145.

Fishman PA, Anderson ML, Cook AJ, Ralston JD, Catz SL, Carlson J, Larson EB, Green BB. Accuracy of blood pressure measurements reported in an electronic medical record during routine primary care visits. J Clin Hypertens. 2011;13(11):821-8. PubMed

To view more publications, please see Dr. Fishman's CV.

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