General Internal Medicine

Peter A Ubel, MD

Professor of Business Administration
Madge and Dennis T. McLawhorn University Distinguished Professor
Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
Professor of Medicine
Professor - Track V in Population Health Sciences
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society
Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Campus mail 100 Fuqua Dr, Box 90120, Room W309, Durham, NC 27708-0120
Phone (919) 660-8003
Email address peter.ubel@duke.edu

I am a physician and behavioral scientist at Duke University. My research and writing explores the quirks in human nature that influence our lives — the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness and the way our society functions. (What fun would it be to tackle just the easy problems?)

I am currently exploring controversial issues about the role of values and preferences in health care decision making, from decisions at the bedside to policy decisions. I use the tools of decision psychology and behavioral economics to explore topics like informed consent, shared decision making and health care spending. My books include Pricing Life (MIT Press 2000) and Free Market Madness (Harvard Business Press, 2009). My newest book, Critical Decisions (HarperCollins), came out in September of 2012, and explores the challenges of shared decision making between doctors and patients.

Education and Training

  • M.D., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1988
  • B.A., Carleton College, 1984

Grants

Publications

Fridman, Ilona, Peter A. Ubel, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, Cameron V. England, Judith S. Currier, Nir Eyal, Kenneth A. Freedberg, et al. “"Cure" Versus "Clinical Remission": The Impact of a Medication Description on the Willingness of People Living with HIV to Take a Medication.” Aids Behav 24, no. 7 (July 2020): 2054–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02769-1.

PMID
31900813
Full Text

Frank, Heather R., Peter A. Ubel, and Charlene A. Wong. “Behavioral Economic Insights for Pediatric Obesity: Suggestions for Translating the Guidelines for Our Patients.” Jama Pediatrics, February 17, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.6013.

PMID
32065616
Full Text

Millo, Lorena, Noelani Ho, and Peter A. Ubel. “The Cost of Applying to Medical School. Reply.” The New England Journal of Medicine 382, no. 4 (January 2020): e8. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmc1915823.

PMID
31971697
Full Text

Williamson, Theresa, Marc D. Ryser, Jihad Abdelgadir, Monica Lemmon, Mary Carol Barks, Rasheedat Zakare, and Peter A. Ubel. “Surgical decision making in the setting of severe traumatic brain injury: A survey of neurosurgeons.” Plos One 15, no. 3 (2020): e0228947. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228947.

PMID
32119677
Full Text

Kratka, Allison, Peter A. Ubel, Karen Scherr, Benjamin Murray, Nir Eyal, Christine Kirby, Madelaine N. Katz, et al. “HIV Cure Research: Risks Patients Expressed Willingness to Accept.” Ethics Hum Res 41, no. 6 (November 2019): 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/eahr.500035.

PMID
31743627
Full Text

Perumalswami, Chithra R., Kent A. Griffith, Rochelle D. Jones, Abigail Stewart, Peter A. Ubel, and Reshma Jagsi. “Patterns of Work-Related Burnout in Physician-Scientists Receiving Career Development Awards From the National Institutes of Health.” Jama Internal Medicine, October 14, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.4317.

PMID
31609394
Full Text

Lemmon, Monica E., Hanna E. Huffstetler, Pamela Donohue, Madelaine Katz, Mary C. Barks, Emma Schindler, Debra Brandon, Renee D. Boss, and Peter A. Ubel. “Neurodevelopmental Risk: A Tool to Enhance Conversations With Families of Infants.” J Child Neurol 34, no. 11 (October 2019): 653–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0883073819844927.

PMID
31137987
Full Text

Millo, Lorena, Noelani Ho, and Peter A. Ubel. “The Cost of Applying to Medical School - A Barrier to Diversifying the Profession.” The New England Journal of Medicine 381, no. 16 (October 2019): 1505–8. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp1906704.

PMID
31618537
Full Text

Moseley, Connor A., Madhulika Vulimiri, Robert S. Saunders, William K. Bleser, Eliana M. Perrin, Sarah C. Armstrong, Gary X. Wang, Peter A. Ubel, Mark McClellan, and Charlene A. Wong. “Medicaid and CHIP Child Health Beneficiary Incentives: Program Landscape and Stakeholder Insights.” Pediatrics 144, no. 2 (August 2019). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3161.

PMID
31289193
Full Text

Lemmon, Monica E., Hanna Huffstetler, Mary Carol Barks, Christine Kirby, Madelaine Katz, Peter A. Ubel, Sharron L. Docherty, and Debra Brandon. “Neurologic Outcome After Prematurity: Perspectives of Parents and Clinicians.” Pediatrics 144, no. 1 (July 2019). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3819.

PMID
31248939
Full Text

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