Bio: Stirling Bryan, Ph.D., a 2005-06 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, is director of the Health Economics Facility and professor of health economics at the University of Birmingham, U.K. His principal research interest is in the challenge posed by new medical technologies, and policy approaches to deal effectively with such challenges. His work in the U.S. has explored these issues at Kaiser-Permanente, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Veterans Health Administration. More broadly, his research has covered the areas of economic evaluation and health technology assessment from applied and methodological perspectives, including preference elicitation and outcome measurement, and the use of economic analyses in decision-making. He has published extensively in these areas. Bryan is a member of the U.K. Medical Research Council’s College of Experts and the Standing Scientific Committee of the International Health Economics Association (iHEA). Formerly, he sat on the Appraisal Committee of the U.K. National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence. Bryan holds a doctorate in economics from Brunel University.
Placement: Stanford University
Mentors: Alan M. Garber, M.D., Ph.D.
Project: Coverage Policy in the U.S. and the U.K.: An Investigation of Principles, Processes and the Use of Cost-Effectiveness Information
Description: Bryan’s research sought to describe technology coverage policy in a number of U.S. health care organizations, and to elicit stakeholders’ views on coverage policy and, specifically, on the use of cost-effectiveness information. He undertook a literature review and case studies at four U.S. organizations that make coverage decisions (Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Veterans Health Administration), including interviews, document analysis, and workshops with senior decision-makers.