M. Kit Delgado

In this study, a feedback intervention increased opioid guideline adherence from 57% to 72% without compromising patients’ ability to manage pain. @jama.com @kitdelgado.bsky.social jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

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Nudge boosts statin-prescribing, means fewer pharmacy trips Statins are lifesaving to those with high cholesterol, but patients don’t always take them. A nudge that increased long-term prescriptions could be key.

With a simple click, doctors can potentially save lives and reduce heart attack and stroke risks for thousands of patients by helping them have their statins on hand. Read more about this impressive Penn project. @acfanaroff.bsky.social @kitdelgado.bsky.social www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-re...

The easy intervention of 90 day vs 30 day prescriptions foundationally changed patterns and addressed some disparities. We can do this in neurology too! #AAN2025

4/ PS - in this study alone, for this one class of medications, changing the default to 90-day supplies meant 57,000 less trips to the pharmacy for our patients! Being a patient on a statin myself, I can tell you it makes it much easier to stay on track

3/ And we appreciate the Editor's Note aligned with the mission of the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit - Making the Right Choice Easy.

Special thanks to Penn Medicine's Kevin Mahoney and the generosity of Adam Berns for enabling this work/

2/ Providing patients with 90-day supplies of their medications (rather than shorter durations) has been shown to increase medication adherence and reduce cardiovascular mortality. The simple default change not only led to 20 percentage point overall improvement, but also reduced disparities...

3/ And we appreciate the @jama.com Editor's Note highlighting the mission of the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit - "Making the Right Choice Easy"

Special thanks to the support from @pennmedicine.bsky.social, CEO Kevin Mahoney, and the generosity of Adam Berns that enabled this effort /

Change in Default Prescription Length and Statin Prescribing Behavior This quality improvement study examines the association of changing the default supply for statin prescriptions to 90 days with clinician prescribing behavior.

If you have to take a daily pill to reduce your risk of heart disease, wouldn't it be easier get your meds at the pharmacy 4 days/yr instead of 12?

We made a simple tweak in the default order that made things easier for patients and reduced disparities... 🧵👇#nudge
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Trump’s Science Policies Pose Long-Term Risk, Economists Warn (Gift Article) Since World War II, U.S. research funding has led to discoveries that fueled economic gains. Now cutbacks are seen as putting that legacy in jeopardy.

Tariffs get all the attention, but ask economists what they're really worried about and many will point to the Trump administration's cuts to federal support for the sciences, including canceling grants and revoking student visas.
#EconSky
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/b...

The simplest solution may be good, but is it good enough? Evaluating the effect of a nudge to administer calcium during blood product resuscitation for traumatic injuries Background Hypocalcemia following severe injury is common. Current institution-specific guidelines recommend calcium (Ca++) supplementation during blood product resuscitation. We hypothesize that a ...

Throwback to our Penn Medicine Nudge Unit days! We evaluated the effect of a non-EHR nudge to administer CA++ during trauma resuscitations. Great team led by Daniela Schmulevich, Jeremy Cannon, and with @kitdelgado.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

A study from @agarwalEM @kitdelgado.bsky.social (@UPennEM) Daniel Lee (@pennsurgery.bsky.social) & Zarina Ali (@PennNSG) found that patients who receive an opioid disposal kit after surgery were more likely to dispose of leftover pills than those who did not @pennldi.bsky.social tinyurl.com/3tnne39z

Terminating grants — the Thanos approach.
apple.news/AMuwpa1jfRmS...

7/ I'm bullish on the opportunity to optimize behavioral engagement in usage based insurance programs (>$30 billion in premiums in North America in 2024), a true win-win opportunity for business and public health. Thank you to Kelsey Bartalozzi and Katie DeGraff for their partnership at GM. /

6/ ✅ In a subgroup of the participants, we tested the same interventions for reducing handheld phone use while driving. The top performing intervention also reduced phone use by 1 minute per hour, but this subgroup was likely underpowered and result was not statistically significant

5/ ✅ The shared prize approach outperformed an approach that promised a chance in a weekly lottery for the full $125 prize for maintaining a streak, or those merely texted personalized feedback on their buckling habits.

4/ ✅ The total cost of incentives for drivers assigned to this 10-week intervention was only $4.40 per driver—a cost that could be sustained within auto-insurance programs that currently offer billions of dollars in safe-driving discounts each year.

3/ ✅ In a follow-up period after the intervention ended, there was a 33% reduction in unbuckled trips, indicating that the *habit persisted*. This is key!

2/ ✅ Drivers were 26% less likely drive unbuckled when they were promised a share of $125 weekly prize money for maintaining a streak of always buckling up. The weekly $125 prizes were divided among drivers who maintained their perfect streak.

Proud to share our latest work led by Jeff Ebert in partnership with General Motors now out in @amjpublichealth.bsky.social!

RCT w/ 1,100 divers from 49 states

A modest incentive tied to maintaining streaks of seatbelt use led to sustained increase use!

ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2...

AJPH American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) from the American Public Health Association (APHA)

Exciting new paper out today shows that a behavioral
intervention with modest financial incentives led to a sustained increase in seat belt use! 🚗 @kitdelgado.bsky.social ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/epdf/10....

Opioid Disposal Kits May Help Patients Dispose Pills Prescribing the right amount of opioid tablets to help ease severe pain after surgery can be a challenge. Opioid disposal kits may help address this issue.

Opioid disposal kits may offer an inexpensive and effective way to impact public safety by reducing excess opioids in the community, a new study by LDI Fellows Zarina Ali, Daniel Lee, @kitdelgado.bsky.social, and Anish Agarwal finds.

Read more at our new Q&A here:
ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/res...

Medicaid enrollment & post-acute care use after traumatic injury ft. @dianehaddadmd, @jhatchmd, @ella_eisinger, @angela_t_chen, @KChreiman, @ramadan_o_rama, @AnnaUma, @kitdelgado.bsky.social, @nielsmd, @MarkSeamonMD, @LisaMKnowlton & Elinore Kaufman @UPennTrauma journals.lww.com/jtrauma/full...

Grateful for this honor, my mentors, my collaborators, mentees, and the great teams I get to work with at Penn and beyond 🙏

2025 Nudge Request for Proposals Submit an idea to improve care delivery and outcomes for the chance to get behavioral change support and expertise!

🏆 We here in @pennmedicine.bsky.social's Nudge Unit are happy to announce a new request for proposals to receive support from our team to design, test, and implement behavior change interventions in health care. Apply by *Feb 28*!

chti.upenn.edu/2025-nudge-r...

The overdose crisis is ever evolving, especially in Philly. You may have recently heard about #xylazine ("tranq") and the associated horrific wounds.

Now we're seeing a shift to #medetomidine which causes a severe withdrawal syndrome often needing ICU care. Read this:
hip.phila.gov/document/487...

Kit Delgado with text "Pennsylvania Impact Awards: Leaders Making an Impact in our Communities."

🏆 @kitdelgado.bsky.social, faculty director of the Nudge Unit (behavioral design team) was honored with an Impact Award from @cityandstatepa.bsky.social! Congrats to Dr. Delgado & all the changemakers highlighted this year! Read more from City & State PA: www.cityandstatepa.com/power-lists/...

Here is what to do to keep families safe from accidental shootings Experts at Penn Medicine say firearm injuries and deaths occur due to improper gun storage in homes with children.

Proud of Sunny Jackson and the Penn Medicine Trauma and Nudge Unit team efforts funded by the PA Dept of Health to distribute firearm storage devices in @pennmedicine.bsky.social and our community! Great story in @whyy.org
whyy.org/articles/acc...

How to build a good research partnership: A Q&A with Dr. Kit Delgado on his work with Progressive - Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) See how Dr. M. Kit Delgado cultivated a successful partnership with Progressive Insurance to reduce handheld phone use while driving.

How do great research collaborations happen? CHIBE Associate Director @kitdelgado.bsky.social describes his partnership with Progressive Insurance and TrueMotion (now called Cambridge Mobile Telematics) in this Q&A. chibe.upenn.edu/blog/how-to-...