The Heller School for Social Policy and Management

Christopher Tompkins

Associate Research Professor

Christopher Tompkins's photo

Contact

Email: tompkins@brandeis.edu
Office: Heller-Brown Building 219
Phone: 781-736-3913
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Expertise

health services research, health economics, national and state health policy, research methods

Degrees

  • Brandeis University
    Ph.D.
  • Brandeis University
    M.M.H.S.
  • Northeastern University
    B.A.

Christopher Tompkins

Associate Research Professor

Profile

Christopher Tompkins, Ph.D. has pioneered payment and incentive systems for healthcare reform for since the 1980’s. He was a member of the research team that first developed diagnosis-based risk-adjustment models for Medicare. In the 1990’s, he led the research team that pioneered development of the Medicare shared savings payment model, and the blueprint for the Physician Group Practice demonstration, which became the basis for today’s Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

In the 2000’s, he led the design of Medicare Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP), and later led the analytic support for implementation of HVBP. He directed the development of the Episode Grouper for Medicare (EGM) for CMMI as the basis for individual feedback to physicians, and Medicare physician value-based payment. Dr. Tompkins is leading support for design innovation and empirical modeling of policy options for CMS/CCSQ regarding the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS); and development of an APM with the American College of Surgeons, along with a number of surgical specialties, that is based on an episode framework for cost and quality.

Dr. Tompkins led analytic support for about 100 hospitals considering participation in the Medicare Bundled Payment for Care Improvement demonstration. Also, he directed support of the Office of the National Coordinator’s Beacon Communities in relation to claims-based performance measures based on Medicare data. He also led development of prototypical bundled payment options for behavioral health in Medicaid.

Dr. Tompkins has led many applied research studies, including RCTs and quasi-experimental evaluations, and has taught program evaluation, healthcare financing, and research methods. He chaired the Brandeis University IRB and HIPAA Privacy Board for eight years.

Dr. Tompkins co-authored the NQF report (2014) on linking quality and cost measures for evaluating healthcare efficiency and value. He has led the development of NQF-endorsed performance measures related to care transitions, as well as the prototype Medicare Spending per Beneficiary measure now implemented in Medicare HVBP.

Scholarship

  • Bandeian, Stephen; Tompkins, Christopher. "A Future Health Care Analytic System (Part 1): What the Destination Looks Like." Healthcare Information Management Systems, 5th Edition. Ed. Weaver CA, Ball MJ, Kim GR, Kiel JM. Springer, 2021 (forthcoming)
  • Bandeian, Stephen; Tompkins, Christopher. "A Future Health Care Analytic System (Part 2): What is Needed and How to Get There." Healthcare Information Management Systems, 5th Edition. Ed. Weaver CA, Ball MJ, Kim GR, Kiel JM. Springer, 2021 (forthcoming)
  • Tompkins, Christopher; Bandeian, Stephen. "Innovating Payment Models for High-Value Healthcare." Healthcare Information Management Systems, 5th edition. Ed. Weaver CA, Ball MJ, Kim GR, Kiel JM. Springer, 2021 (forthcoming)
  • Zhu, J, Weingart, S, Ritter, G, Tompkins, C, and Garnick, D. "Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Patient Experience With Communication in Hospitals: Real Differences or Measurement Errors?." Medical Care (2015). (forthcoming)
  • Wynn-Jones W, Koehlmoos TP, Tompkins C, Navathe A, Lipsitz S, Kwon NK, Learn PA, Madsen C, Schoenfeld A, Weissman JS. "Variation in expenditure for common, high cost surgical procedures in a working age population: implications for reimbursement reform.." BMC Health Services Research 19. (2020).
  • Stason WB, Ritter GA, Martin T, Prottas J, Tompkins C, Shepard DS. "Effects of Expanded Coverage for Chiropractic Services on Medicare Costs in a CMS Demonstration." PLoS ONE 11. 2 (2016): 0147959.
  • Ryan, Andrew, and Tompkins, Christopher. Efficiency and Value in Healthcare: Linking Cost and Quality Measures. Washington, DC National Quality Forum: 2015.
  • Larson, MJ, Mohr, B, Sayko Adams, R, Ritter, G, Perloff, JN, Williams, TV, Jeffery, DD, Tompkins, C.. "Association of Military Deployment of a Parent or Spouse and Changes in Dependent Use of Health Care Services." Medical Care 50. 9 (2012): 821–828..
  • Mechanic, R and Tompkins, Christopher. "Lessons Learned Preparing for Medicare Bundled Payments." NEJM 367. 20 (2012).
  • Rastogi A, de Brantes F, Slusarz J, Tompkins C, .. "Analysis of Medicare and Commercial Insurer- Paid Total Knee Replacement Reveals Opportunities for Cost Reduction." (2012)
  • Tompkins, C.P., Altman, S.H., Eilat, E... "The Precarious Pricing System for Hospital Services." Health Affairs 25. 1 (2006): 45-56.
  • Reif, S., Horgan, C.M., Ritter, G., Tompkins, C.P.. "The Impact of Employment Counseling on Substance User Treatment Participation and Outcomes." Substance Use & Misuse 39. 13-14 (2004): 2391-2424.
  • Tompkins, C.P., Perloff, J.. "Using Information to Guide Managed Behavioral Health Care." Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research 31. 1 (2004): 98-110.
  • Altman, S.H., Tompkins, C.P., Eilat, E., Glavin, M.P.V.. "Escalating Health Care Spending: Is It Desirable or Inevitable?." Health Affairs 22. 1 (2003): W3-1 to W3-14.
  • Wallack, S.S., Tompkins, C.P.. "Realigning Incentives in Fee-for-Service Medicare." Health Affairs 22. 4 (2003): 59-70.
  • Glavin, M.P.V., Tompkins, C.P., Wallack, S.S., Altman, S.H.. "An Examination of Factors in the Withdrawal of Managed Care Plans from the Medicare Plus Choice Program." Inquiry-the Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing 39. 4 (2002): 341-354.
  • Simoni-Wastila, L., Tompkins, C.P.. "Balancing Diversion Control and Medical Necessity: The Case of Prescription Drugs with Abuse Potential." Substance Use & Misuse 36. 9-10 (2001): 1275-1296.
  • Tompkins, C.P., Bhalotra, S., Trisolini, M.. "Applying Disease Management Strategies to Medicare." Milbank Quarterly 77. 4 (1999): 461-484.
  • Tompkins, C.P., Wallack, S.S. , Skwara, K.C.. "The Road Ahead for Medicare Managed Care: Addressing the Needs of the Chronically Ill." Journal of Long-Term Home Health Care 17. 2 (1998): 11-20.
  • Tompkins, C.P., Bhalotra, S., Garnick, D.W., Chilingerian, J.A.. "Physician Profiling in Group Practices." Journal of Ambulatory Care Management 19. 4 (1996): 28-39.
  • Tompkins, C.P., Wallack, S.S., Bhalotra, S., Chilingerian, J.A., Glavin, M.P.V., Ritter, G., Hodgkin, D.. "Bringing Managed Care Incentives to Medicare's Fee-for-Service Sector." Health Care Financing Review 17. 4 (1996): 43-63.