Kit Delgado, MD, MS and Michael Pesko, PhD Awarded Second Round of CHERISH Pilot Grants.
Kit Delgado, MD, MS
Dr. Delgado’s pilot grant will assess physician-level variability in opioid drug prescribing practices for six specific diagnoses across multiple specialties. Dr. Delgrado will use the Optum Cliniformatics DataMart national private insurance claims database to estimate excess prescription opioids prescribed by state and nationally, and calculate the resulting excess cost to the health system. Dr. Delgado is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is also a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. His research focuses on clinical and policy interventions in emergency care and trauma systems to improve injury outcomes.
Michael Pesko, PhD
Using econometric techniques, Dr. Pesko will examine data from the National Center for Health Statistics to explore the impact of e-cigarette and marijuana policies on cigarette use and birth outcomes. The study will provide evidence of whether e-cigarettes, marijuana, and cigarettes have differential risks to pregnant women. Dr. Pesko is an Assistant Professor of Healthcare Policy & Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Trained as a health economist, Dr. Pesko’s research focuses on evaluating health policy changes and their effect on health outcomes.