Research Area
Patient Demand & Alignment
Understanding patient behavior, preferences, and economic factors that drive healthcare utilization and outcomes.
Overview
Understanding how patients make healthcare decisions—and how providers and systems can better align with patient needs—is fundamental to improving health outcomes. Our research applies behavioral economics and empirical methods to study healthcare demand and the design of effective incentive systems.
Key areas of investigation include:
- Patient decision-making: How patients weigh quality, cost, convenience, and other factors when choosing providers and treatments
- Provider incentives: Designing payment systems that align provider behavior with patient outcomes
- Value-based care: Evaluating alternative payment models and their effects on quality and cost
- Information and choice: How information provision affects patient choices and market outcomes
Related Publications
View all publicationsEffect of an mHealth-Supported Healthy Future Programme to Improve Type 2 Diabetes Management in Nairobi, Kenya: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial
Chen, Huanhuan, Ndegwa, Stephen, Kwaro, Daniel, Otieno, Walter, Oyugi, Elizabeth, Sylvia, Sean (2023)
The Lancet Global Health
Evaluation of a Village-Based Digital Health Kiosks Program: Evidence from Two Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trials
Cheng, Fei, Yip, Winnie, Zhu, Yue, Sylvia, Sean (2022)
Health Policy and Planning
DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czac072Nudging Primary Care Providers to Expand the Opioid Use Disorder Workforce
Domino, Marisa Elena, Sylvia, Sean, Green, Sherri (2022)
Health Services Research
DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.13894Innovative Approaches of Measuring Care Quality in China's Market for Telemedicine
Cheng, Fei, Zeng, Tongxin, Sylvia, Sean, Chen, Xi (2024)
China Economic Review
DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102320Factors Influencing Adoption and Use of Telemedicine Services among Primary-Care Physicians and Patients in Rural China: A Qualitative Study
Du, Yang, Xu, Changzheng, Yip, Winnie, Sylvia, Sean (2022)
BMJ Open
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059438Quality of Telemedicine Consultations for Sexually Transmitted Infections in China: A Standardized Patient Study
Si, Lei, Xue, Hao, Tucker, Joseph D., Sylvia, Sean (2024)
PLOS Medicine
Tuberculosis Detection and the Challenges of Integrated Care in Rural China: A Cross-Sectional Standardized Patient Study
Sylvia, Sean, Xue, Hao, Zhou, Chengchao, Shi, Yaojiang, Yi, Hongmei, Zhou, Huan, Rozelle, Scott, Pai, Madhukar, Das, Jishnu (2017)
PLOS Medicine
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002405Telehealth Payment Parity and Outpatient Service Utilization: Evidence from Privately Insured Workers
Zhang, Zhang, Bundorf, M. Kate, Gong, Qing, Shea, Christopher M., Gilleskie, Donna, Sylvia, Sean Y. (2025)
Health Affairs Scholar
DOI: 10.1093/haschl/qxaf068Research Themes
Provider Payment
Studying how payment models—fee-for-service, capitation, bundled payments, P4P—affect provider behavior and patient outcomes.
Quality Measurement
Developing methods for measuring and reporting healthcare quality that are meaningful to patients and actionable for providers.
Patient Navigation
Understanding barriers patients face in navigating the healthcare system and designing interventions to improve access.
Collaborate With Us
We partner with health systems, payers, and policymakers to design and evaluate payment and delivery innovations.
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