Research
Dr. Bao’s scholarship focuses on important and timely areas of health policy investigation. The two active areas are provider payment policies that promote the implementation of evidence-based mental health and substance use care practices and the intended and unintended effects of policies aimed at improving the quality and safety of opioid analgesics. Her work in these areas has had meaningful policy and clinical impact. For example, her work on payment design for integrated depression care management in primary care directly informed Medicare payment policies, and her leadership in evaluating state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) policies has been recognized through major media and policy outlets.
Dr. Bao has expertise in natural experimental designs to evaluate policy or clinical interventions and statistical modeling of patient outcomes, health care utilization, and costs. Dr. Bao also has expertise in mixed-methods studies that engage stakeholders in the research process.
Current Projects:
- Policies addressing the opioid crisis
Bio
Dr. Bao is a professor of population health sciences in the Division of Health Policy and Economics in the Department of Population Health Sciences with a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry. She earned her BA in international economics at Fudan University in Shanghai, China and her MA in economics and finance from the University of Alabama. She received her PhD in policy analysis in 2003 from the RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, California.
Distinctions:
- Scholar and (now) faculty, NIMH Advanced Research Institute in Geriatric Mental Health
- John M. Eisenberg Article-of-the-Year in Health Services Research, 2007
- Most Outstanding Abstract, AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, 2003, 2004, 2006
Select Publications:
Bao Y, Zhang H, Bruera E, Portenoy R, Rosa WE, Reid MC, Wen H. Medical Marijuana Legalization and Opioid- and Pain-Related Outcomes Among Patients Newly Diagnosed With Cancer Receiving Anticancer Treatment. JAMA Oncol. 2023;9(2):206-214. PMCID: PMC9716439.
Bao Y, Zhang H, Hartung DM, Witkin LR, Paice JA. Medicare Part D Coverage Restrictions and Patient Cost-Sharing for Opioids Commonly Used for Cancer Pain, 2015-2021. JCO Oncol Pract. 2022;18(10):e1574-e1586. PMCID: PMC9810139.
Bao Y, Li Y, Jeng PJ, Scodes J, Papp MA, Humensky J, Wall M, Lee R, Ancker JS, Pincus HA, Smith TE, Dixon LB. Design of a payment decision support tool for Coordinated Specialty Care for Early Psychosis. Psychiatric Services. 2020; 72(2):180-185.
Bao Y, Pan Y, Taylor A, Radakrishnan S, Luo F, Pincus HA, Schackman BR. Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Are Associated With Sustained Reductions In Opioid Prescribing By Physicians. Health Aff (Millwood). 2016 Jun 1;35(6):1045-51. PMCID: PMC5336205
Bao Y, Tang Y, Donohue JM. Retaining Part D's comprehensive coverage of antidepressants: Not a silver bullet. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015; 72(3): 201. PMCID: PMC4878408