Dennis Ross-Degnan

Dennis Ross-Degnan, ScD, is Associate Professor at the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He holds a doctorate in health policy and management from Harvard School of Public Health. For over thirty years, Dr. Ross-Degnan’s work has focused on improving health systems in the US and low- and middle-income countries, including research on behavioral and systems factors that determine use of medicines, impacts of health and pharmaceutical policies on utilization and clinical outcomes, and appropriate methods for health systems research. He has served as lead or senior investigator on many international and domestic research studies to evaluate health systems initiatives to improve quality and outcomes of care, including studies examining: different forms of interactive education; pharmaceutical and insurance benefit design; systems interventions to improve ARV adherence; high deductible health plans for patients with chronic illness; using hospital-based community health workers to reduce hospital readmissions; outreach to health providers and patients to improve utilization; and systems interventions in low resource settings to promote appropriate prescribing and use of medicines.

In 1990, Dr. Ross-Degnan co-founded the International Network for Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD), a global network of academics, health managers, and policymakers involved in testing interdisciplinary interventions to improve use of medicines. He has consulted extensively with the World Health Organization on access to and appropriate use of medicines, and on evaluation of WHO health systems intervention strategies. From 2004 to 2013, he co-directed the WHO Collaborating Center on Pharmaceutical Policy based jointly at Harvard Medical School and Boston University. Dr. Ross-Degnan has mentored over 70 PhD students and post-doctoral fellows from 22 countries. He has received the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award, the Klaus Peter International Teaching Award, and the Wllliam H Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School for distinction in international medical education and mentoring.

Recent Publication:

Essential Medicines for Universal Health Coverage. Wirtz V, Hogerzeil HV, Gray AL, Bigdeli M, de Joncheere CP, Ewen MA, Gyansa-Lutterodt M, Sun J, Luiza VL, Mbindyo RM, Moeller H, Moucheraud C, Pecoul B, Rago L, Rashidian A, Ross-Degnan D, Stephens PN, Teerawattananon Y, 't Hoen EFM, Wagner AK, Yadav P, Reich M. The Lancet. 2017Jan 28;389 (10067): 403-476.