Carey’s newest Bloomberg Distinguished Professor applies economics and policy to improve health care

Health economist and policy leader Melinda Buntin has a lot going on. She recently joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. She is the new director of policy for the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative. She will be the director of the new Center for Health Systems and Policy Modeling. And she’s the newest Bloomberg Distinguished Professor.

Professional acumen is one thing, but run into Buntin at the coffee shop at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center and you’ll find her personality to be just as impressive. She was handed her coffee in a ceramic cup and saucer and waved out of the café by the barista who said, “She’s one of the only ones we let do that. She always brings them back. Melinda is the best.”

Buntin’s transformative research is aimed at improving health care delivery and outcomes by helping health care professionals deliver the best care in the best way.

“My goal is to produce new knowledge and policy options that inform the decisions of leaders in both the business and policy realms,” she said. “Overall, my research is about two things. The first is how to improve the value we get out of the money spent on health care in this country… the second is looking at the way policy shapes how care is organized and delivered and how that, in turn, can affect people who need care the most.”

Buntin’s dual focus on health economics and policy makes her a perfect fit for the Knowledge to Action and Business of Health research cluster of Bloomberg Distinguished Professors. At Johns Hopkins, BDPs advance the university’s commitment to innovation and strengthen its leadership in research fields of international interest. Among the world’s most accomplished interdisciplinary scholars, these faculty link academic disciplines, open novel fields of inquiry, and invigorate the entire community, all in the service of tackling society’s most complex problems.

“The health care system is so siloed,” she said. “It takes a bold initiative like the one that Carey is supporting to take on health care as a system of complex organizations.” Buntin’s work to improve the health care system will involve predictive models and inference methods. 

This bold initiative and the challenges it addresses are met with Buntin’s enthusiasm for her new role. “There is no shortage of opportunities to use data and evidence to improve health care delivery and the value produced by our health care system.”

And Buntin isn’t the only one who is enthusiastic about her new role at Johns Hopkins.

“When I first heard from Melinda about what she hoped to do at Hopkins, I was incredibly excited to support her recruitment,” said Dan Polsky, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Policy at Carey Business School and director of the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative. “We are thrilled to have her here. She will be a phenomenal collaborator and will extend the impact of our work through her policy leadership.”

Based at Carey’s new Washington, D.C., location at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, Buntin will be an integral part of the business school’s interdisciplinary work. 

"Melinda's impressive distinction as a researcher is a tremendous contribution to Carey Business School's rich faculty expertise,” said Carey Business School Dean Alex Triantis. “Her deep understanding of health economics makes her uniquely qualified to work across disciplines with respected researchers in many Hopkins schools while also amplifying the value of our Hopkins Business of Health Initiative to researchers all over the world. We are very fortunate that she is part of Carey’s present and future.”

Buntin’s economic insight, a global reputation for excellence, and a mission with a societal impact align her well with Carey’s values. And she says she’s happy to have found a place at Carey. 

“It is truly an honor to be affiliated with both Carey and the school of public health as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor. The outstanding colleagues at Hopkins are a joy to work with.” 

Plus she always returns her cups and saucers to the barista with a smile.