Penn Medical Ethics and Health Policy

1104 Blockley Hall

Health Policy Research Seminar: Parker Rogers, PhD, Assistant Professor of Business, Indiana University

Learn More 2025-05-22 12:00:00 2025-05-22 13:00:00 America/New_York Health Policy Research Seminar: Parker Rogers, PhD, Assistant Professor of Business, Indiana University Topic: "The Long-Run Impacts of Regulated Price Cuts: Evidence from Medicare." About: How do healthcare cost-saving policies affect innovation and patient safety? In this talk, I'll examine the unintended consequences of Medicare price cuts in the medical device industry. While intended to reduce healthcare costs, these cuts significantly hindered innovation and led to greater dependence on outsourced manufacturing, raising risks related to product quality and patient safety. These findings suggest the losses from reduced innovation may offset the direct savings from price reductions. I'll discuss how targeted policy reforms could better balance healthcare cost management with maintaining incentives for innovation." Parker Rodgers is an Assistant Professor at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, where he researches the impact of regulation on health care product markets. He is also an invited researcher with J-PAL's Science for Progress Initiative. Before joining Kelley, Rodgers was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Aging and Health Research at the National Bureau of Economic Research (2023–2024). He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego in 2023. 1104 Blockley Hall Penn Medical Ethics

May

27

Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom)

Hybrid Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "On Harm and Hope: Carceral Systems, Youth Well-Being, and the Possibilities for Intervention" - Noor Toraif, PhD, MA

Learn More 2025-05-27 12:00:00 2025-05-27 13:00:00 America/New_York Hybrid Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "On Harm and Hope: Carceral Systems, Youth Well-Being, and the Possibilities for Intervention" - Noor Toraif, PhD, MA On Harm and Hope: Carceral Systems, Youth Well-Being, and the Possibilities for Intervention Noor Toraif, PhD, MA Deans' Distinguished Visiting Professorship Assistant Professor, Social Work University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice Youth and emerging adults entangled in the child welfare, juvenile, and criminal legal systems face long-term disruptions to their networks of care, developmental trajectories, and overall well-being. This talk will provide an overview of Dr. Noor Toraif’s scholarship, which examines the causes and consequences of crossover between the child welfare and criminal legal systems and investigates decarceral and community-based strategies for interrupting youth criminalization– including restorative justice-based diversion, holistic defense interventions, and social and economic support programs. Drawing on mixed methods research, Dr. Toraif will describe the scope and mechanisms of crossover and trace how carceral system contact reshapes young people’s life trajectories, highlighting emerging interventions aimed at reducing system involvement. The talk will focus on one study exploring guaranteed income (GI) as a material strategy for supporting former foster youth during the transition to adulthood. Using longitudinal qualitative data from a diverse cohort of participants, the study identifies how GI enables young people to reconstitute safety nets, redirect resources toward educational and economic mobility, and renegotiate bonds of care disrupted by child welfare involvement. The talk concludes with implications for prevention and intervention strategies that advance the health, stability, and well-being of young people impacted by multiple systems. Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

June

10

Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom)

Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS): "Returning Genetic Research Results"

Learn More 2025-06-10 12:00:00 2025-06-10 13:00:00 America/New_York Research Ethics and Policy Series (REPS): "Returning Genetic Research Results" Returning Genetic Research Results Angela R. Bradbury, MD Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology) Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Associate Professor, Medical Ethics & Health Policy The volume of genomic testing is expected to increase given the large federal and commercial investment in genomic technologies designed to enhance personalized medicine. Translational research that evaluates the implementation, dissemination and “real world” outcomes of existing and new genomic applications is needed to guide the rational clinical integration of genomic advances to ultimately reduce the burden of cancer and improve human health. As a medical oncologist with specialized training in clinical cancer genetics, cancer prevention and medical ethics, Dr. Bradbury has been developing and leading translational genetic research focused on the ethics and clinical implementation of genetic medicine to promote the health of individuals and families since 2003. This work involves research and academic activities focused on: a) the delivery of genetic services, b) the implications of genetic medicine for children and adolescents and c) Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in genetic medicine. These translational and multidisciplinary studies have been supported by the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, Greenwall Foundation Program in Bioethics, American Society of Clinical Oncology and Pennsylvania Department of Health. We expect these studies, and subsequent studies within this research program to increase our understanding of how to incorporate genomic testing into the care of patients and families in a way that benefits the health and minimizes the risks for patients across the lifespan. Lunch provided. Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: RCH B102AB, Richards Bldg., 3700 Hamilton Walk (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

June

17

Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom)

Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "The Other Disabled President" with Beth Linker, PhD

Learn More 2025-06-17 12:00:00 2025-06-17 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "The Other Disabled President" with Beth Linker, PhD The Other Disabled President Beth Linker, PhD Samuel H. Preston Endowed Term Professor in the Social Sciences Department Chair of the History and Sociology of Science University of Pennsylvania Beth Linker is Chair of the Department of the History and Sociology of Science and the Samuel H. Preston Endowed Term Professor in the Social Sciences. She is also a former physical therapist and holds an M.A. in bioethics. Her research focuses on how disability becomes defined, medicalized, and marginalized in modern U.S. history. More detail to follow. Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

June

24

Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom)

Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): Barbara Chaiyachati, MD, PhD

Learn More 2025-06-24 12:00:00 2025-06-24 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): Barbara Chaiyachati, MD, PhD Barbara Chaiyachati, MD, PhD Attending Physician, Division of General Pediatrics Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Barbara Chaiyachati, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist interested in addressing and abating the short and long-term effects of traumatic-stressful events or adversities, particularly child maltreatment. More detail to follow. Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

July

22

Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom)

Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "Pre-Hospital Triage Decision Making in Times of Scarce Resources – a Mixed Method Study within the Swiss Healthcare Setting"

Learn More 2025-07-22 12:00:00 2025-07-22 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "Pre-Hospital Triage Decision Making in Times of Scarce Resources – a Mixed Method Study within the Swiss Healthcare Setting" Pre-Hospital Triage Decision Making in Times of Scarce Resources – a Mixed Method Study within the Swiss Healthcare Setting Elisabeth Stock Scientific Assistant PhD Candidate Institute for Biomedical Ethics Basel Switzerland The COVID-19 pandemic raised numerous ethical questions around the use of limited medical resources in emergency situations and beyond. In response, guidelines were drafted and implemented to ensure ethically sound rationing of critical resources. Numerous ethical guidelines have been developed on how to triage patients in hospitals, in cases where extensive medical care cannot be provided to all patients who need it. However, much less attention was given to drafting guidance on pre- and peri-hospital management under conditions of scarcity. Hence, there is little literature on direct or indirect forms of pre-hospital triage, which can often be implicit or non-transparent. This is problematic, as there are signs that some forms of triage happened in the pre- or peri-hospitalisation period, creating ethically questionable disparities, particularly concerning older patients. To explore the pre-triage mechanisms applied in Switzerland during the COVID-19 pandemic amid medical resource scarcity, a qualitative interview study was carried out with 57 healthcare professionals from various Swiss healthcare organizations. Further, a survey was conducted with 213 older patients from four geriatric clinics to gather their opinions on the allocation of scarce medical resources. The aim of the presentation is to share the key findings of the study on our participants' experiences, perceptions, and opinions regarding pre-triage mechanisms during the COVID- 19 pandemic. Streaming available via Zoom. Hybrid: 1402 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive (and virtual via Zoom) Penn Medical Ethics

July

29

Virtual, via Zoom

Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "Trading Time for Tissue: The Morality of Organ Donation Programs in Prison Systems" with Paul Tubig

Learn More 2025-07-29 12:00:00 2025-07-29 13:00:00 America/New_York Penn Bioethics Seminar Series (PBS): "Trading Time for Tissue: The Morality of Organ Donation Programs in Prison Systems" with Paul Tubig Trading Time for Tissue: The Morality of Organ Donation Programs in Prison Systems Paul Tubig Assistant Professor of Philosophy Georgia Southern University Paul Tubig is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgia Southern University. Paul writes, teaches, and speaks widely about the relationship between health and justice, and the ethics of transformative technologies, including body-modification technologies, in contexts of injustice. More detail to follow. Streaming via Zoom. Virtual, via Zoom Penn Medical Ethics