Julia Prentice, PhD
Director, Health Care Financing and Economics
Julia Prentice is Director of the Health Care Financing and Economics (HCFE) group at the VA Boston Healthcare System and holds faculty appointments in the Boston University School of Medicine and Public Health. Her current research focuses on the comparative effectiveness of medications and the validation of access metrics using patient-level outcomes. This work utilizes econometric methods to supplement randomized trial evidence with data analyses based on quasi-experimental designs. These results have allowed her to identify health risks of medication regimes not identified by other approaches. Her research on access to care in veteran populations has helped to shape national Department of Veterans Affairs policies for collecting and evaluating appointment wait times in responses to recent VA access crises. She is co-principal investigator of the Partnered Evidence Based Resource Center (PEPReC) that provides timely, rigorous data analysis to support the development of high-priority policy, planning, and management initiatives and randomized program evaluations within VA healthcare. She completed undergraduate majors in Biology and Sociology at Grinnell College and a MSPH and PhD in Community Health Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles.
