Timothy Hoff, Ph.D. and Gary Young, J.D., Ph.D.

Timothy Hoff, Ph.D., associate professor of management and organizational development, healthcare systems, and health policy, and Gary Young, J.D., Ph.D., director, Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Research, both at Northeastern University, are currently co-principal investigators on a HCFO-funded study of physician  adaptation to incentive-based payment approaches.  Hoff and Young are conducting the study, which will employ a novel qualitative research methodology, in cooperation with the New England Quality of Care Alliance, a large, Massachusetts-based network of physician practices.   Physician practices that are part of the Alliance vary along several dimensions, including the amount of revenue they earn from global payment arrangements versus fee-for-service, how individual doctors are compensated, academic affiliations, their general financial health, staff size, geographic location and patient demographics. Hoff and Young will conduct seven to 10 in-depth interviews with providers and support staff at six to eight practices with varying characteristics. The goal of this project is to describe in-depth, “on-the-ground” cognitive and behavioral adaptations occurring among primary care providers in response to value-based payment arrangements and to develop a preliminary typology of such adaptations that could be applied across physician practices and delivery systems to better predict, design, and implement payment reform.

Dr. Hoff’s research focuses on health care implementation, physician attitudes and behavior, primary care system transformation, changing modes of professionalism, and health care innovation. Prior to joining the faculty at Northeastern University, Dr. Hoff was an associate professor of health policy and management at the University of Albany, SUNY, and prior to that, he worked as a hospital administrator and health care consultant. Over his career, Dr. Hoff has worked with a variety of organizations including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Veterans Health Administration, American Cancer Society, and New York State Department of Health.  He is also a Visiting Associate Fellow at Oxford University.

Dr. Hoff is on the editorial board of three academic publications: Medical Care Research and Review, Health Care Management Review, and Advances in Health Care Management. In 2012 he was named one of the “101 Most Influential Professors of Public Health” nationally by MPHProgramsList.com, an online service for public health student education. Hoff has published numerous articles, several book chapters, and a full-length book titled Practice Under Pressure: Primary Care Physicians and Their Work in the 21st Century. He holds a Ph.D. in public administration and policy from the University at Albany, SUNY.

Dr. Young’s research focuses on strategic management of healthcare delivery organizations, quality of care, pay-for-performance, and health law. Prior to joining the faculty at Northeastern, Dr. Young was the chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. His other professional experiences include working as a health care attorney and analyst for the federal government and as a health care consultant for a national firm.

Dr. Young’s research has been published in a variety of journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, and Health Affairs. He has received numerous awards, and in 2012, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury appointed him to the Internal Revenue Service’s Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities. This committee is one of several congressionally mandated bodies that advise the IRS on policy and procedural issues including tax exemption matters regarding hospitals. Young has a law degree and a Ph.D. in management from the State University of New York.

More information about Timothy Hoff, Ph.D. can be found here.

More information about Gary Young, J.D., Ph.D. can be found here.

More information about Hoff and Young’s HCFO-funded grant can be found here.