Varsha G. Vimalananda MD, MPH

Associate Professor, Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition & Weight Management

Physician-Scientist, Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR)

150 S Huntington Avenue | (617) 638-8530
varsha.vimalananda@bmc.org
varsha.vimalananda@va.gov
varshav@bu.edu

Sections

Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition & Weight Management

Biography

I am an endocrinologist, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University, and a Physician-Scientist at the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) at the VA Bedford Medical Center. I lead research to improve the quality of specialty health care delivery from patient and clinician perspectives.

My projects include work to:
- Develop and validate survey measures of specialty care coordination from patient and clinician perspectives
- Measure coordination of face-to-face care, telehealth, and cross-system care and examine their influences and outcomes in order to guide improvement work
- Identify and apply strategies to improve the efficiency and experience of e-consults and telehealth
- Ensure a clinical perspective in research on telehealth, secure messaging, text messaging, patient portals, and natural language processing to improve care for patients with diabetes

My research draws on my expertise in survey methods, qualitative methods, care coordination, patient-centered care, and endocrinology subspecialty care. I serve as a subject matter expert as a member of the Endocrine Society Clinical Affairs Core Committee and also for the American College of Physicians Council of Subspecialty Societies.

Websites

BU Profile

VA Boston Center for Healthcare Organization & Implementation Research

Interview with the Endocrine Society -- Mind the Gap: Health Services Research

My NCBI

Education

MD, Drexel University College of Medicine

Epidemiology, MPH, University of California, Berkeley

Anthropology, BA, University of Chicago

Publications

Published on 5/10/2024

Jasuja GK, Wolfe HL, Reisman JI, Vimalananda VG, Rao SR, Blosnich JR, Livingston NA, Shipherd JC. Clinicians in the Veterans Health Administration initiate gender-affirming hormone therapy in concordance with clinical guideline recommendations. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024; 15:1086158. PMID: 38800485.

PubMed

Published on 4/3/2024

Wolfe HL, Vimalananda VG, Wong DH, Reisman JI, Rao SR, Shipherd JC, Blosnich JR, Livingston NA, Jasuja GK. Patient Characteristics Associated with Receiving Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy in the Veterans Health Administration. Transgend Health. 2024 Apr; 9(2):151-161. PMID: 38694620.

PubMed

Published on 3/22/2024

Kaitz J, Vimalananda VG, Charns MP, Fix GM. Multidisciplinary providers' perceptions of care delivery for sleep disorders: A qualitative case study. Sleep Health. 2024 Jun; 10(3):342-347. PMID: 38519364.

PubMed

Published on 2/6/2024

Zogas A, Sitter KE, Barker AM, Fix GM, Khanna A, Herbst AN, Vimalananda VG. Strategies for engaging patients in co-design of an intervention. Patient Educ Couns. 2024 Jun; 123:108191. PMID: 38367306.

PubMed

Published on 12/1/2023

Anderson E, Krones A, Vimalananda VG, Cutrona SL, Orlander JD, Strymish JL, Rinne ST. Understanding suboptimal e-consult requests: lessons from the VA. Am J Manag Care. 2023 Dec 01; 29(12):e378-e385. PMID: 38170529.

PubMed

Published on 12/1/2023

Zupa MF, Vimalananda VG, Rothenberger SD, Lin JY, Ng JM, McCoy RG, Rosland AM. Patterns of Telemedicine Use and Glycemic Outcomes of Endocrinology Care for Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Dec 01; 6(12):e2346305. PMID: 38055278.

PubMed

Published on 11/27/2023

Vimalananda VG, Meterko M, Sitter KE, Qian S, Wormwood JB, Fincke BG. Patients' Experience of Specialty Care Coordination: Survey Development and Validation. J Patient Cent Res Rev. 2023; 10(4):219-230. PMID: 38046998.

PubMed

Published on 11/14/2023

Hung A, Wong ES, Dennis PA, Stechuchak KM, Blalock DV, Smith VA, Hoerster K, Vimalananda VG, Raffa SD, Maciejewski ML. Real World Use of Anti-Obesity Medications and Weight Change in Veterans. J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Mar; 39(4):519-528. PMID: 37962730.

PubMed

Published on 10/19/2023

Vimalananda VG, Wormwood JB, Sitter KE, Fincke BG, Qian S, Tait MN, Meterko M. Adaptations for remote research work: a modified web-push strategy compared to a mail-only strategy for administering a survey of healthcare experiences. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2023 Oct 19; 23(1):244. PMID: 37858034.

PubMed

Published on 10/12/2023

Vimalananda VG, Arao K, Qian S, Leibowitz A, Zupa MF, Benzer J, Fincke BG, Zocchi M, Meterko M, Berlowitz D, Sitter KE, Wormwood JB. Variation in telehealth use for endocrine care: Patterns and predictors under the "new normal". J Telemed Telecare. 2023 Oct 12; 1357633X231203144. PMID: 37828749.

PubMed

View full list of 67 publications.