Susan Lu

Gerald Lyles Rising Star Professor of Management
Supply Chain and Operations Management

Education

Ph.D., Northwestern University (MEDS)
M. A., Beijing University, China
B. A., Beijing University, China

Dr. Susan F. Lu is the Gerald Lyles Rising Star Professor of Management at the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue University. She received her PhD from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is also an affiliated faculty of healthcare engineering at the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering.

Her research centers on healthcare operations and analytics, with an emphasis on nursing home operations and cardiac care delivery. Applying both empirical and machine learning methodologies, she investigates the operational drivers of healthcare delivery performance to understand the impact of public policies and technological innovations on the management of healthcare operations. She is also specialized in supply chain management and research on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Lu has completed 35 research papers, with 32 being published and 3 being under review/revision. Many of these papers appeared in leading management and economics journals such as Science, Management Science, MSOM, Information System Research, POMS, Review of Economics and Statistics and Journal of Health Economics. She received the best paper award from the ASHE in 2008, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the community of health economists and is given to a single-authored paper every other year. In 2015, her paper about health IT received the WHITE best paper award, the most prestigious award in the field of health IT. In 2016, her paper about mandatory overtime laws was a finalist for the Pierskalla award by INFORMS Health Applications Society. In 2018, her work on treatments of heart attack was selected as a Best Abstract of the CRT 2018 Cardiovascular Research Technology Conference, which is one of the world's leading interventional cardiology conferences and is attended by more than 3,000 doctors. In 2019, her paper on telemedicine won the best paper award in the Hawaii International Conference on System Science.

Dr. Lu's work has gained considerable attention in the public. One of her work was selected by Nature News for annual important discoveries in 2013. One work collaborating with a group of interdisciplinary researchers has been endorsed by the world-known blog Freakonomics. One work combining operations management into policy analysis is recommended by a healthcare media Healthcare Value Hub. Another work on solving shortage of donated blood is recognized by the Nobel Prize Laureate Al Roth's blog - Market Designer. Her paper which applies machine learning based techniques into empirical research appeared in the NBER Digest and Vox. During the COVID-19 period, her work about legal issues on nursing home negligence appeared at Barron's. In May 2023, she provided her expert testimony on elderly care to the US Senate Special Committe of Aging.

Currently she is an associate editor of Management Science, an associate editor of MSOM, a senior editor of Production and Operations Management Journal (POMS) and an associate editor of Naval Research Logistics (NRL). Beyond academia, she is a mentor for the Creative Destruction Lab and an academic advisor for the Brattle Group.

Journal Articles

Jim Brickley, Susan Feng Lu and Gerard Wedig (2022). "Are Firms with ’Deep Pockets’ More Responsive to Tort Liability? Evidence from Nursing Homes." Health Economics vol. 31 (8), 1590-1617.
Lu, L.X and S.F. Lu (2022). "Does Nonprofit Ownership Matter for Firm Performance? Evidence from Ownership Conversions of Nursing Homes." Management Science vol. 68 (7), 5127-5145.
Ginger Jin, Ajin Lee and Susan Feng Lu (2022). "Patient Routing to Skilled Nursing Facilities: The Consequences of the Medicare Reimbursement Rule." Management Science vol. 68 (12), 8722-8740.
Brickley, J. A., S. F. Lu and G. J. Wedig. (2021). "Five-Star Ratings and Managerial Turnover: Evidence from Nursing Homes." Journal of Law, Economics and Organization vol. 37 (2), 278-313.
Lu, SF. Wedig, G. Serfes, K. and B. Wu (2021). "Does Competition Improve Quality? The Case of Nursing Homes where Public and Private Payers Coexist." Management Science vol. 67 (10), 6493-6512..
Li, Y. Lu , LX. Lu SF. and J. Chen (2021). "The Value of Health IT Interoperability: Evidence from Transfer of Heart Attack Patients between Emergency Departments." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management vol. 24 (2), 827-845.
Angrist, J., P. Azoulay, G. Ellison, R. Hill and S. F. Lu. (2020). "Inside Job or Deep Impact? Extramural Citations and the Influence of Economic Scholarship." Journal of Economics Literature vol. 58 (1), 3-52.
Sun, S., Lu, S. F., and Rui, H. (2020). "Does Telemedicine Reduce Emergency Room Congestion? Evidence from New York State." Information Systems Research vol. 31 (3), 972-986.
Jin, G. Z., B. Jones, S.F. Lu and B. Uzzi (2019). "The Reverse Matthew Effect: Consequences of Retraction in Scientific Teams." Review of Economics and Statistics vol. 101 (3), 492-506.
Lu, S.F., H. Rui and A. Seidmann (2018). "Does Technology Substitute for Nurses? Staffing Decisions in Nursing Homes." Management Science vol. 64 (4), 1842-1859.
Lu, S.F. and H. Rui. (2018). "Can We Trust Online Physician Ratings? Evidence from Cardiac Surgeons in Florida." Management Science vol. 64 (6), 2557-2573.
Lu, L.X. and S.F. Lu (2018). "Distance, Quality or Relationship? Interhospital Transfer of Heart Attack Patients." Production & Operations Management vol. 27 (12), 2251-2269.
Jin, G. Z. and S.F. Lu (2018). "Toward a More Scientific Science: Retraction and Reputation." Science vol. 361 (6408), 1194-1197.
Lu, S.F. and L.X. Lu. (2017). "Do Mandatory Overtime Laws Improve Quality? Staffing and Operational Flexibility in Nursing Homes." Management Science vol. 63 (11), 3566-3585.
Angrist, J., P. Azoulay, G. Ellison, R. Hill and S. F. Lu. (2017). "Economic Research Evolves: Fields and Styles." American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings vol. 107 (5), 293-297.
Sun, T. S., S. F. Lu and G. Z. Jin. (2016). "Solving Shortage in a Priceless Market: Insights from Blood Donation." Journal of Health Economics vol. 48 149-165.
Lu, S.F. (2016). "The Role of Donations in Quality Disclosure Evidence from Nonprofit Nursing Homes." American Journal of Health Economics vol. 2 (4), 431-462.
Lu, S. F., G. Z. Jin, B. Uzzi and B. Jones. (2013). "The Retraction Penalty: Evidence from the Web of Science." Nature Scientific Reports vol. 3
Lu, S. F. and G. J. Wedig. (2013). "Clustering, Agency Costs and Operating Efficiency: Evidence from Nursing Home Chains." Management Science vol. 59 (3), 677-694.
Lu, S.F. (2012). "Multitasking, Information Disclosure, and Product Quality: Evidence from Nursing Homes." Journal of Economics & Management Strategy vol. 21 (3), 673-705.

New research finds utilizing telemedicine in the ER can reduce wait times and patient length of stay
Telemedicine has become more common given the current global pandemic. COVID-19 has limited doctor’s office and hospital visits to ensure safety for everyone. But rather than diminish the quality of care, new research coauthored by Purdue's Susan Lu in the INFORMS journal Information Systems Research finds that increasing wider use of telemedicine in the emergency room (ER) can yield positive results for patients and providers alike.
Full story: New research finds utilizing telemedicine in the ER can reduce wait times and patient length of stay
Does Technology Replace Nurses? Not necessarily...
Nurses have many duties, but none is more important than providing bedside care to patients. A research study co-authored by Susan F. Lu, associate professor of management in Purdue's Krannert School of Management, shows some nurses may lose their jobs when automation arrives at their workplaces. But the reverse may happen at other healthcare facilities: new technology may spark the hiring of more nurses.
Full story: Does Technology Replace Nurses? Not necessarily...
https://www.youtube.com/embed/sMVO7RWHqZ4
Good Medicine
Looking for a high-caliber surgeon may be easier than previously thought. Critics of online rating platforms have stated that online physicians’ ratings are nothing more than a popularity contest, but a new study by Susan Lu, a professor at the Purdue University Krannert School of Management, suggests that the time-honored word-of-mouth method for finding quality health care may hold up after all.

Daniels School professor appears before Senate Special Committee on Aging
Susan Lu, the Gerald Lyles Rising Star Professor of Management at Purdue University’s Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, recently offered expert testimony at a hearing of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging.
Full story: Daniels School professor appears before Senate Special Committee on Aging
New research finds utilizing telemedicine in the ER can reduce wait times and patient length of stay
Telemedicine has become more common given the current global pandemic. COVID-19 has limited doctor’s office and hospital visits to ensure safety for everyone. But rather than diminish the quality of care, new research in the INFORMS journal Information Systems Research coauthored by Purdue’s Susan Lu finds that increasing wider use of telemedicine in the emergency room (ER) can yield positive results for patients and providers alike.
Nursing home industry asks for immunity from COVID-19 crisis
As Covdi-19 deaths and cases escalate, legislators wrestle with the issue of legal immunity for nursing homes, which house some of the most vulnerable patients. At the request of the senior-care industry, more than 20 states have passed new laws to shield senior-care facilities from coronavirus-related litigation or protected them through executive orders. Krannert faculty expert Susan Lu comments on the issue.
Malpractice laws may shield nursing homes from liability during Covid-19 pandemic
As nursing homes continue to emerge as Covid-19 hot spots, allegations of negligence are likely to increase among residents, their families and advocacy groups, according to Barron's. However, a study co-authored by Susan Lu, Gerald Lyles Rising Star Associate Professor of Management at Purdue's Krannert School, suggests that malpractice laws in many states allowing nursing homes to shield their assets could also decrease potential settlements resulting from the pandemic.
The case for economics—by the numbers
A new study examines 140,000 economics papers published from 1970 to 2015, tallying the “extramural” citations that economics papers received in 16 other academic fields, including sociology, medicine, and public health. A paper co-authored by associate professor Susan Feng Lu appears in the March issue of the Journal of Economic Literature.
Who Gets Blamed When a Group Project Goes Wrong?
Consequences stick to some team members more than others, according to a new study of retracted academic papers based on research co-authored by Krannert Professor Susan Feng Lu. The researchers looked at retracted academic articles with multiple authors and compared how frequently each author continued to be cited by fellow scholars following the retraction. Crunching the numbers, they found that the more junior members of the team saw a substantial decline in citations of their work, while the more eminent members experienced little or no change.
Three-Day Stay Rule Generates Up to $447M in Extra Medicare Spending
The three-day hospital stay rule required for Medicare to cover subsequent skilled nursing facility stays may have generated millions in extra payments to SNFs, a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests.
Study by Krannert prof Susan Lu shows cardiac surgeons’ online ratings prove reliable
Looking for a high-caliber surgeon may be easier than previously thought. Critics of online rating platforms have stated that online physicians’ ratings are nothing more than a popularity contest, based on the interpersonal encounter a patient has with their doctor, rather than on the doctor’s attentiveness to current best practices. Even though the system has been met with skepticism, a new study suggests that the time-honored word-of-mouth method for finding quality health care may hold up after all.
Economics gets out more often: Using extramural citations to assess economic scholarship
Economics, and economists, are often accused of insularity and hubris, and of talking primarily to themselves in their research. This column, coauthored by Krannert's Susan Lu, uses a recent analysis of citations to and from other disciplines to show that this is no longer the case.
Checking the pulse on health-care staffing
Working long hours takes a toll. It also can be counterproductive and is commonly linked to more stress and errors.
Doing the right thing: Scientists reward authors who report their own errors, says study
We’ve always like to highlight cases in which scientists do the right thing and retract problematic papers themselves, rather than being forced to by editors and publishers.