Karen Blumenschein - Pharm.D.

The focus of Dr. Blumenschein's teaching includes the areas of research design, medical literature evaluation and health outcomes assessment. She coordinates "The Evidence Base of Practice" course taken by all second-year students in the UK College of Pharmacy. In addition to didactic teaching, she directs the joint PharmD/MPA and PharmD/MBA programs at UK with more than 20 graduates since 1999. Dr. Blumenschein has provided faculty mentoring for a number of student research projects, including two Merck Research Scholars, two AFPE "Gateway to Research" Scholars, and two NACDS Research Scholars. She has served as the University of Kentucky NCPA faculty liaison since 2001 and has been faculty advisor for two NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Business Plan Competition submissions

Dr. Blumenschein's primary research interest is validity issues associated with non-market valuation methods. Other research interests include incorporating quality of life into health economic evaluations and estimation of the patient-perceived value of community pharmacy services. Her research has received extramural funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the pharmaceutical industry, and various foundations. She is the author of scholarly work in both the economics and pharmacy literature.

Dr. Blumenschein serves as a member of the University's Medical Institutional Review Board. Outside the University, she is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Pharmacy Services Corporation Foundation for Education and Research and is a member of the Advisory Council for the Kentucky Pharmacy Education and Research Foundation. She has served as a consultant for the U.S. Bureau of Primary Health Care Office of Pharmacy Affairs, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Selected Honors

• NCPA Foundation Faculty Liaison Award (2006)
• PNCPA Foundation Research Award (2004)
• ACCP Pharmacoeconomics Research Award (2000)
• AACP New Investigator Award (1999)
• Drug Information Association Research Award (1998)
• ACCP Pharmacoeconomics Research Award (1997)
• PhRMA Faculty Development Award in Pharmacoeconomics

Selected Publications/Presentations

• Blumenschein K, Blomquist GC, Johannesson M and Horn N, Freeman P. Eliciting willingness to pay without bias: evidence from a field experiment. The Economic Journal (accepted for publication July 17, 2006; forthcoming).
• Moy ML, Fuhlbrigge AL, Blumenschein K, Chapman R, Zillich A, Kuntz KM, Paltiel AD, Kitch BT, Weiss ST, Neumann PJ. Association between Utilities and Asthma Severity. Annals of Allergy Asthma and Immunology 2004; 92:329 - 334.
• Zillich AJ, Blumenschein K, Johannesson M, Freeman P. Assessment of the Relationship between Objective Measures of Disease Severity, Quality of Life and Willingness to Pay in Asthma. PharmacoEconomics 2002; 20(4); 257-265.
• Blumenschein K, Johannesson M, Yokoyama K. Hypothetical vs. Real Willingness to Pay in the Health Sector: Results from a Field Experiment. Journal of Health Economics 2001; 20:441-457.
• Clifton GD, Ranz TT, Blumenschein K, Lehman ME. Heart Failure Guideline Utilization in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Consultant Pharmacist Initiated Approach to Improve Awareness. The Consultant Pharmacist 2000; 15: 623 - 30
• Liljas B, Blumenschein K. A Review of Hypothetical Bias and Calibration in Willingness to Pay Studies. Health Policy 2000; 52: 53-70.
• Blumenschein K, Johannesson M. Use of Contingent Valuation to Place a Monetary Value on Pharmacy Services: An Overview and Review of the Literature. Clinical Therapeutics 1999; 21(8):1402-1417.
• Johannesson M, Blomquist GC, Blumenschein K, Johansson P-O, Liljas B, O'Conor RM. Calibrating Hypothetical Willingness to Pay Responses. Journal of Risk & Uncertainty 1999; 8:21-32.
• Howard K, Blumenschein K, Rapp RP. A Cost-Minimization Analysis of Azithromycin vs. Erythromycin in Community Acquired Pneumonia. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 1999; 56:1521-4.
• Ranz TT, Blumenschein K, Clifton GD. Prevalence of Heart Failure and Patterns of Treatment in a Long-Term Care Population. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 1999; 56: 1334-8.

Website Links

• Martin School of Public Policy and Administration
• Office of Research Integrity