Kevin Frick, PhD

Kevin Frick is a professor who teaches economics for decision-making, business leadership and human values, frameworks for analyzing healthcare markets, and a course on the US healthcare system in the past, present, and future.

Frick studied health policy and administration at Penn State, followed by economics and health services research at the University of Michigan. In 1996, he joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he has joint appointments. He moved to a leadership position at the Carey Business School in 2013 and returned to an exclusively faculty role in 2021.

Much of Frick’s research focuses on measuring costs associated with diseases or measuring the cost-effectiveness of new treatments, care systems, or community-based interventions. Focal areas include nursing, cancer, and public and private eye care. He is currently co-chairing a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine workgroup on myopia. In addition, he is co-chairing an AcademyHealth project on building the field of health services research. He focuses on research translation, specializing in linking peer-reviewed research with the information business leaders need to make decisions about companies that operate in the real-world marketplace.

He has mentored students, faculty, and staff, and spoken about mentoring to many audiences—particularly mentoring as a two-way street. He has focused on DEIB issues as a member of a team that produced a series of videos about LGBTQ+ Narratives in Academia, as part of a second team that produced a video called Business of Pronouns, by serving on the school’s Inclusive Teaching committee, by reading names at graduation for 10 years, and by serving on the Diversity and Anti-Racism Team for the Society for Medical Decision Making.

Education

• Ph. D, Economics and Health Services Organization and Policy, University of Michigan
• MA, Economics, University of Michigan
• BS, Health Policy & Administration, Pennsylvania State University

Research

Selected publications

• Saraswathula, A., Yesantharao, L., Gourin, C. G., Rowan, N. R., & Frick, K. D. (2023). Cost-effectiveness analysis comparing in-office posterior nasal nerve ablation to surgical therapies. American journal of otolaryngology, 44(2), 103776.
• Wong B, Singh K, Khanna RC, Ravilla T, Kuyyadiyil S, Sabherwal S, Sil A, Dole K, Chase H, Frick KD. Strategies for cataract and uncorrected refractive error case finding in India: costs and cost-effectiveness at scale. The Lancet Regional Health—Southeast Asia. Forthcoming.
• Miller, J. R., Frick, K. D., & Gourin, C. G. (2022). Hospital Markup in Head and Neck Cancer Surgery in the US. JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery. 148(12): 1147–1155.
• Saraswathula, A., Austin, J. M., Fakhry, C., Vosler, P. S., Mandal, R., Koch, W. M., Tan, M., Eisele, D. W., Frick, K. D., & Gourin, C. G. (2023). Surgeon Volume and Laryngectomy Outcomes. The Laryngoscope, 133(4), 834–840.
• Eckert, K. A., Lansingh, V. C., Carter, M. J., & Frick, K. D. (2022). Update of a Simple Model to Calculate the Annual Global Productivity Loss Due to Blindness and Moderate and Severe Vision Impairment. Ophthalmic epidemiology, 1–9. Advance online publication.
• Daumit GL, Janssen EM, Jerome GJ, Dalcin AT, Charleston J, Clark JM, Coughlin JW, Yeh H-C, Miller ER, Durkin N, Louis TA, Frick KD, Wang N-Y, Appel LJ. Cost of behavioral weight loss programs implemented in clinical practice: the POWER trial at Johns Hopkins, Translational Behavioral Medicine.  2020; 10(1): 103-13.
• Dean LT, Ransome Y, Frasso-Jaramillo LF, Moss SL, Zhang Y, Ashing K, Denis GV, Frick KD, Visvanathan K, Schmitz KH. Drivers of cost differences between US breast cancer survivors with or without lymphedema. Journal of Cancer Survivorship. 2019; 13(5): 804-14.
• Gourin CG, Herbert RJ, Quon H, Fakry C, Kiess AP, Eisele DW, Frick KD.  Quality of care and short and long-term outcomes of oropharyngeal cancer care in the elderly.  Head & Neck.  2019; 41(10): 3542-3550.

Working Papers

• Segal J, Yanek L, Jager L, Okoli E, Hatef E, Dada M, Frick KD. Higher percentage of virtual primary care associated with differences in achievement of some quality metrics.
• Wong B, Singh K, Ravilla T, Khanna RC, Chase H, Frick KD.The Potential of Eye Health Investment as a Best Buy in Global Health and Development.
• Collins ME, Alexander G, Guo X, Tariq A, Frick KD. Cost Analysis of a School-Based Vision Program in an Urban, High-Poverty School District.

Teaching

Current

• Frameworks for Analyzing Health Care Markets
• Business Leadership and Human Values
• U.S. Health Care System: Past, Present, and Future
• Economics for Decision Making

Honors and distinctions

• Johns Hopkins University Diversity Recognition Award (2022), Interviewer and interview annotator for the LGBTQ+ Narratives in Academia Project
• Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Best Article Award (2017).  Co-author on “‘Eat Right - Live Well!' Supermarket intervention impact on sales of healthy foods in a low-income neighborhood.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.  2016; 48(2): 112-121.
• APHA Vision Care Section Distinguished Service (2011)
• Excellence in Teaching (Summer 2011), Obesity Economics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Golden Apple Award for Small Class Sizes (2011), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Student Assembly
• Golden Apple Award for Internet-based Classes (2011), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Student Assembly
• Penn State Schreyer Honors College (2009) Outstanding Scholar Alumnus
• John M. Eisenberg Article-of-the-Year in Health Services Research, (2006).  Co-author on “The causes of racial and ethnic differences in influenza vaccination rates among elderly Medicare beneficiaries”.  Health Services Research.  2005;40(2):517-38
• Atlantic Economic Journal Best Article award for Cross product subsidization in the health insurance market with managed care: a model and issues (2000)

Impacts and Engagements

• Associate Editor of Women's Health Issues
• Plenary speaker about Engaging with Diverse Students for the Pennsylvania State University Career Development Professionals Conference
• Planned and assisted production of the Business of Pronouns video focusing on respect for and the appropriate use of pronouns
• Lectured on the Science of Bias to a medical writing company
• Multiple podcasts and blogs on leadership, values, and DEIB