Rate My Professor MEGAN VANNEMAN

Megan Vanneman, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor with tenure in the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, and in the Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Health System Innovation and Research. She serves as a Core Investigator at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System's Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center (IDEAS) and directs the Vanneman Lab. Prior to her faculty appointment at the University of Utah, she held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Services Research at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System’s Center for Innovation to Implementation and Stanford University School of Medicine’s Center for Health Policy/Primary Care and Outcomes Research. She earned a PhD in Health Services and Policy Analysis from the University of California, Berkeley, an MPH in Health Policy and Management from Columbia University, and a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University. Dr. Vanneman is also a multi-principal investigator for a VA Merit project and the Access and Community Care Engagement Network Team COnsortium of REsearch (ACCENT CORE), Senior Associate Editor for Health Services Research, and Associate Chief of the Health Research and Evaluation for Communities section in Epidemiology.

A health services researcher specializing in health policy, economics, organizational behavior, informatics, and decision science, Dr. Vanneman examines the impact of policy changes on access to care, quality of care, and costs in large healthcare and payer systems, including Medicaid and the Veterans Health Administration, with particular emphasis on mental health and substance use disorders. She utilizes mixed-methods approaches, integrating quantitative techniques such as econometrics, biostatistics, and surveys with qualitative methods including in-depth interviews and focus groups. Her teaching interests encompass research methods and health policy. Key publications include "Veterans' Experiences With Outpatient Care: Comparing The Veterans Affairs System With Community-Based Care" (Health Affairs, 2020), "Comparing Complication Rates After Elective Total Knee Arthroplasty Delivered Or Purchased By The VA" (Health Affairs, 2021), "Comparing cataract surgery complication rates in veterans receiving VA and community care" (Health Services Research, 2020), "Use of Veterans Affairs and Medicaid Services for Dually Enrolled Veterans" (Health Services Research, 2018), and "The Impact of Medicaid Enrollment on Veterans Health Administration Enrollees' Behavioral Health Services Use" (Health Services Research, 2018). Dr. Vanneman received the William D. Odell and Margaret F. Odell Junior Investigator Award in 2021, a VA Health Services Research & Development Career Development Award (CDA 15-259), and a VA HSR&D Service Directed Research grant in 2018. She publishes in top journals in her field, contributing to policy and decision-making in health systems.