Our multidisciplinary research is dedicated to understanding and improving access, affordability, and value of ambulatory health care in the United States. Specifically, our lab uses Medicare and commercial claims, national survey, and electronic health record data to study primary care payment, delivery, and policy; the use and consequences (cascades) of low-value care; older adults’ experiences navigating the health care system; and gender equity.
Our work on low-value care – medical services with little or no clinical benefit – investigates individual and organizational drivers of this care and quantifies the “care cascades” of uncertain value that can follow, to understand the impact of this care on patient outcomes and spending. We study how primary care has changed over time and how primary care payment models and delivery approaches impact patient outcomes, spending, and gender equity. We also examine the burdens older adults face in accessing care – measured in health care contact days – and how innovative delivery models can ease those burdens.
Selected publications:
Selected publications:
Selected publications:
Selected publications:
Principal Investigator
Ishani Ganguli is an Associate Professor of Medicine, health services researcher, and practicing primary care physician at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Ganguli serves as an Associate Editor at JAMA Internal Medicine and as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Standing Committee on Primary Care. She is also a former journalist who has written about science and health care for The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. She received her AB, MD, and MPH from Harvard University and completed internal medicine/primary care residency and a health policy and management fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Research Assistant
Nick is Ishani’s research assistant. In this role, he works on literature reviews, data analysis, writing, and project management. His interests include primary care, medical journalism, and health care policy. Nick graduated from Harvard College in 2023 and is considering a career in medicine or public health. In his free time, he enjoys running, fishing, and reading.
Emma was Ishani’s research assistant from 2022 to 2023. She graduated from MIT in 2017 and earned a PhD in chemistry at Stanford in 2022 before pivoting to the health sciences. She is currently a medical student at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and is interested in women's health, reproductive health, and barriers to accessing care.
Kathleen is a medical student at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. As Ishani’s research assistant from 2021 to 2022,she spent much of her time managing a randomized controlled trial testing an educational intervention to improve patient–physician conversations about medical tests. Kathleen is currently leading research on how high-value care is taught in medical education. Kathleen hopes to become an academic physician. In her free time, she can be found exploring the outdoors, playing rugby, or working out at the local CrossFit gym.
Nitya joined Ishani’s team as her research assistant in 2020 after graduating from Dartmouth College. In this role, she helped with both qualitative and quantitative health services research projects aimed at improving the value of primary care. She is currently a third-year medical student at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and plans to apply to internal medicine for residency after graduation. Her interests include health care policy and health disparities. She is currently leading a project on how women access primary care. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, baking, and knitting.
Claire was Ishani's research assistant from 2018 to 2020. During her time working with Ishani, Claire performed literature reviews and prepared data sets, manuscripts, and presentations focused primarily on cascades of care. More recently, Claire has focused on leveraging technology solutions to optimize healthcare operations and cost savings through roles in healthcare consulting and customer operations at health technology companies. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Claire now works with start-up companies in the health technology and analytics space. In her free time, she loves reading, running, hiking, and spending time outside.
Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH, can be reached at iganguli@bwh.harvard.edu.
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