Rebecca Arden Harris, MD, MSc is an Assistant Professor and Primary Care Physician in the Penn Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Before medical school, Dr. Harris was a research assistant in labs at the Fox Chase Cancer Center and at the University of Pennsylvania, where she investigated the immune response to hepatitis B and C viruses. At Jefferson and Montefiore, Dr. Harris studied antiretroviral medication adherence among HIV-positive persons who were experiencing homelessness. She also constructed and validated an instrument for predicting treatment interruptions of HIV medication.
Her recent research has focused on opioid prescribing in primary care, and has compared the extent to which different agents (hydrocodone and oxycodone) induce long-term use and dependency. Dr. Harris has expanded this focus to include the impact of insurance and out-of-pocket costs on prescription patterns and health outcomes. On the treatment side, Dr. Harris is interested in the design and evaluation of treatment interventions for opioid use disorder. A graduate of Haverford College, she attended medical school at Thomas Jefferson University and completed her residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
