Peter Ubel, MD

Peter A. Ubel, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan; a primary care physician at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Associate Director of the Michigan Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program; and Director of the Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan.

His research explores controversial issues about the role of values and preferences in health care decision making, from decisions at the bedside to policy decisions. He uses the tools of decision psychology and behavioral economics to investigate topics such as informed consent, shared decision making, and health care rationing.

Dr. Ubel has won many research awards, including a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Clinton in 2000. He has written over 100 scientific articles, and his research has been widely reported in the popular media. Dr. Ubel has significant experience in communicating his research findings to broad audiences on radio and television, including guest appearances on Talk of the Nation, Fresh Air, and All Things Considered.

In addition, he has published articles for lay audiences in places such as The New York Times, The Los Angles Times, The New Leader, The Huffington Post, and The Sciences. He is the author of Pricing Life: Why It Is Time for Health Care Rationing (MIT Press, 2000) and You’re Stronger Than You Think: Tapping the Secrets of Emotionally Resilient People (McGraw-Hill, 2006).

Recent Publications:

Alternate methods of framing information about medication side effects: incremental risk versus total risk of occurrence.
Zikmund-Fisher BJ, Fagerlin A, Roberts TR, Derry HA, Ubel PA. Journal of Health Communication. 13(2):107-124, 2008.

Considering adaptation in preference elicitations.
Damschroder LJ, Kulpa JJ, Ubel PA, Zikmund-Fisher BJ. Health Psychology. In Press, 2008.

Recent Press Coverage:

The Blank Space in Our Family Album
NY Times - January 08, 2008

Going for Golden
Los Angeles Times - October 15, 2007