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Anupam Jena, MD, PhD    

Economist, Physician, & Joseph P. Newhouse Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard; Host of "Freakonomics M.D."; Co-Author, "Random Acts of Medicine"

Anupam B. Jena, M.D., Ph.D., holds the position of Joseph P Newhouse Professor at Harvard Medical School and practices as an internist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Jena's role as a physician-economist is distinguished by his use of natural experiments to unveil complex dynamics within healthcare systems, a topic he eloquently covered in his 2020 TEDMED talk. In addition to his academic and clinical roles, he is the host of the "Freakonomics, M.D." podcast, where he delves into the lesser-known aspects of healthcare through the lens of economics.

His scholarly work includes research on how city-wide events like marathons can affect local mortality rates and how patient outcomes vary with the availability of specialists during major conferences. His book, "Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health," published by Doubleday in the summer of 2023, also reflects these themes. Jena's contributions to healthcare economics have been prominently featured in major publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.

Speech Topics

Author Talk: ‘Random Acts of Medicine’

In this revelatory talk based on his new book, Physician-Economist ANUPAM B. JENA shares the secrets behind his natural experiments and what they reveal about some of the most important questions that impact our health. Does timing, circumstance, or luck impact your healthcare? Is there ever a good time to have a heart attack? Do you choose the veteran doctor or the rookie?  Do you really need the surgery your doctor recommends? With his engaging and accessible style, Dr. Jena brings creativity and connection to our understanding of how medicine and economics intersect.

The Difference Between Seeing and Looking

Seeing is believing, right? Yet, creative social scientist and physician, ANUPAM B. JENA, argues that seeing is not the same thing as looking. We are surrounded by chance occurrences that affect our everyday lives and health in ways that go unnoticed unless someone goes looking for them.

Anupam’s research has shown that these chance events, what economists call natural experiments, are not only powerful enough to shape our mortality but can teach us how to make our health care, and health, better.

Anupam’s research has touched on some of the decade’s most creative findings in social science and medicine. Why do cities have more fatalities on marathon days? Are kids born in August more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD? Do people drive faster after a Fast and Furious movie comes out? And why do patients do better when cardiologists are out of town attending national scientific conferences?

By asking creative, engaging, and important questions about health, science, and economics on a broad scale, Anupam brings nature’s experiments into plain sight.

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