Mailing Address:
Harvard Medical School
Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention
133 Brookline Avenue, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02215

Email: ssoumerai@hms.harvard.edu

Phone: (617) 509-9942
Fax: (617) 859-8112

Staff Assistant:

Stephen Soumerai, ScD

Dr. Soumerai is a Professor in the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention and directs the Drug Policy Research Program. Dr. Soumerai also chairs the Evaluative Sciences and Statistics concentration of the Harvard University-wide PhD program in Health Policy, and has led or been a member of several federal scientific review committees. He is known for his research on methods of improving clinicians' drug prescribing practices and other health care decisions; and on the effects of drug coverage and cost-containment policies on the quality, costs and outcomes of health care in vulnerable populations, such as chronically ill elderly. Dr. Soumerai frequently consults with federal agencies and Congress on issues regarding quality of care and coverage of medications in Medicare. His current work includes studies of: effects of the Medicare drug benefit (Part D) on cost-related underuse of medications among the elderly; the effects of a statewide triplicate prescription (physician surveillance) policy for benzodiazepines on the appropriateness and outcomes of sedative-hypnotic use; and the effects of Medicaid policies restricting access to atypical antipyschotic drugs on the quality of care for patients with schizophrenia.