Jan Blustein
Papers
1
Total Citations
12
H-Index
1
About
Jan Blustein is a health policy and health services researcher whose work centers on the intersection of technology adoption, medical education, and patient outcomes. Her most-cited study, “Teaching Hospitals and the Disconnect Between Technology Adoption and Comparative Effectiveness Research: The Case of the Surgical Robot” (2016, 12 citations), critically examines how teaching hospitals rapidly adopted the costly surgical robot for prostate cancer treatment despite equivocal evidence of its marginal benefit. This work highlights a key tension in U.S. healthcare: the drive for innovation in academic medical centers often outpaces rigorous comparative effectiveness research. Blustein’s research illuminates how institutional incentives—particularly the role of teaching and prestige—can shape technology diffusion, sometimes at the expense of cost-effectiveness and patient-centered care. Her contributions are especially valuable for students and researchers interested in the sociology of medical innovation, health economics, and evidence-based policy. By exposing the disconnect between adoption and evidence, Blustein challenges the field to align technological progress with empirical accountability, making her a thoughtful voice in the ongoing debate over healthcare value and reform.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
- 1