Beth Virnig
Dean and Professor | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES
Beth Virnig’s research examines how patient factors and system factors combine to influence health care and health outcomes.
Biography
Beth Virnig’s research focuses on cancer care, women’s health, end-of-life care and the measurement of racial and ethnic disparities in care and health outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries. Beth's work has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Beth serves on the American Cancer Society’s Council for Extramural Research. She is the author or co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, including an article on breast cancer surgery that was named one of the 10 best papers of the decade (1999-2009) by the American Society of Breast Surgeons. Beth joined the University of Florida in 2022 as dean and Robert G. Frank Endowed Professor of the College of Public Health and Health Professions.
Areas of Expertise (7)
Cancer Care
End-Of-Life Care
Health Care Systems
Health Disparities
Medicare
Patient outcomes
Women’s Health
Media Appearances (4)
Breast cancer patients face insurance denials that complicate recovery: 'The emotional toll was enormous'
The Philadelphia Inquirer online
2021-06-09
Health insurance denials are a burden for physically and emotionally exhausted cancer patients.
The education of a public health worker
University of Minnesota online
2020-07-16
On a rainy morning this past January, Jeanne Moua, Zoe Kusinitz, and Hannah Currie—three U of M students in the master of public health program—sipped tea and nibbled cookies as they listened to the community health team at the Jan Seva Centre in Kolkata, India, describe their initiatives for the upcoming year.
A user's guide to drive-in movie theaters: staying safe and having fun
USA Today online
2020-06-12
Forget Netflix and chill: Now's the time to pull up and park at your local drive-in theater. Movie theaters across America have been empty for nearly three months in accordance with coronavirus restrictions.
As coronavirus spreads, here’s what you can do
Vogue online
2020-03-04
As coronavirus, or COVID-19, spreads globally, it’s become an unavoidable topic of conversation that inevitably leads to a set of important questions: What can individuals do to avoid contracting the virus? What will actually help?
Articles (3)
Trends in ransomware attacks on US hospitals, clinics and other health care delivery organizations, 2016-2021
JAMA Health ForumHannah T. Neprash, et. al
2022-12-29
As health care delivery organizations have increased their reliance on health information technology, they have also increased their exposure to new cybersecurity risks, such as ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that prevents users from accessing their electronic systems and demands a ransom to restore access. Ransomware attacks are one cause of health care data breaches, which are becoming more common and are increasingly attributed to external causes (ie, hacking) rather than internal negligence or malfeasance (ie, misplaced laptops or inappropriately accessed data).
Emergency department use for dental problems among medicare fee-for-service older adults in the U.S. (2016 TO 2020)
Innovation in AgingRoshani Dahal, et. al
2022-12-20
Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) does not include dental coverage for older adults (65 years of age and older), but does cover emergency visits for dental problems. This study leverages Medicare limited data sets to examine the use of emergency department (ED) for preventable, non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs) among Medicare FFS older adults from 2016 to 2020. Nationally, about 43.6 million beneficiaries sought care at the ED (average: about 8.7 million annually).
The least costly pharmacy for cancer supportive care medications over time: the logistic toxicity of playing catch up
Supportive Care in CancerAndrew Etteldorf, et. al
2022-12-13
No single pharmacy in an urban zip code is consistently the least expensive across medications. If medication prices change differently across pharmacies, patients and clinicians will face challenges accessing affordable medications when refilling medications. This is especially pertinent to people with cancer with multiple fills of supportive care medications over time. We evaluated if the lowest-priced pharmacy for a formulation remains the lowest-priced over time.
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