James C. Robinson, Professor of Health Economics and Chair of Berkeley Center for Health Technology, UC Berkeley

Innovation is the engine that drives quality improvement in health care, but also the unsustainable growth in expenditures. The life sciences industry creates a remarkable pipeline of new drugs, devices, and diagnostics, but too often these are used on the wrong patient, at the wrong time, or at the wrong price. In his new book, Purchasing Medical Innovation, Professor Robinson analyzes the roles of the Food and Drug Administration, Medicare and private insurers, physicians, hospitals, and consumers as purchasers of effective but expensive technologies. Is medical technology too expensive? Who should – and will – decide? One of America’s leading health policy experts, Dr. Robinson is noted for bringing real-world experience to policy debates and scientific rigor to the professional and industry world.