Megan Mathews

Photo of Megan Mathews
Senior Statistical Analyst
Washington Office

Education

M.S. in applied statistics, Pennsylvania State University; B.S. in statistics, Pennsylvania State University

Overview

Megan Mathews is a senior statistical analyst at the RAND Corporation. She has provided analytic input on health research projects related to pay-for-performance, quality of care, and patient satisfaction. She uses statistical techniques such as propensity scoring and matching, multi-level, mixed, and survival modeling methods, to draw inferences between process-outcome links and health disparities. She utilizes survey methodology to design and implement sampling procedures as well as analyze complex data using techniques such as sampling weights, case-mix adjustment, non-response, and response rate analyses. She leads large-scale sampling and national scoring tasks and interprets quantitative results to compile findings in a meaningful way for dissemination.

Prior to her work at RAND, she was employed as a data research analyst in the workers' compensation insurance industry where she contributed through predictive analytics used for claims handling improvements as well as other network and operational program evaluations. She also worked at the Office of Immigration Statistics in the Department of Homeland Security evaluating the flow of nonimmigrant admissions. She was a graduate fellow at the National Institutes of Health working for the National Institute of Child Health and Development on methods of adjusted comparison of medians for interval type outcomes. She received her Master of Applied Statistics from Pennsylvania State University.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • National Implementation of MA-PD CAHPS Survey
  • Analysis Related to Medicare Advantage and Part D Contract Star Ratings
  • Health Equity Innovation Incubator (HEII) to Improve Quality in Medicare
  • Preparation for National Implementation of the Emergency Department Patient Experience of Care Survey
  • Robust Statistical Methods to Identify Surrogate Markers in Diabetes

Selected Publications

Mathews M, Agniel D, Elliott MN, Martino SC, Guerino P, Orr N, Ng JH, and Beckett MK, "The Development of a Patient-Reported Functional Limitations Index," American Journal of Managed Care, 26(7), 2020

Mathews M, Parast L, Tolpadi A, Marc MN, Flow-Delwiche L, and Becker K, "Methods for Improving Response Rates in an Emergency Department Setting - A Randomized Feasibility Study," Survey , 12(1), 2019

Martino SC, Mathews M, Damberg CL, Mallett JS, Orr N, Ng JH, Agniel D, Tamayo L, Elliott MN, "Rates of Disenrollment From Medicare Advantage Plans Are Higher for Racial/Ethnic Minority Beneficiaries," Medical Care, 59(9), 2021

Parast L, Mathews M, Martino S, Lehrman WG, Stark D, and Elliott MN, "Racial / Ethnic Differences in Emergency Department Utilization and Experience," Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2021 (forthcoming)

Parast L, Mathews M, and Friedberg MW, "Dynamic risk prediction for diabetes using biomarker change measurements," BMC Medical Research Methodology, 19(175), 2019

Parast L, Mathews M, Elliott M, Tolpadi A, Flow-Delwiche E, Lehrman W, Stark D, and Becker K, "Effects of Push-To-Web Mixed Mode Approaches on Survey Response Rates: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Emergency Departments," Survey Practice, 12(1), 2019

Martino, SC., Mathews M, Agniel D, Orr N, Wilson-Frederick S, Ng JH, A. Ormson E, and Elliott MN, "National racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in experiences with health care among adult Medicaid beneficiaries," Health Services Research, 54(1), 2019

Parast L, Mathews M, Tolpadi A, Elliott M, Flow-Delwiche E, and Becker K, "National Testing of the Emergency Department Patient Experience of Care (EDPEC) Discharged to Community (DTC) Survey and Implications for Adjustment in Scoring," Medical Care, 51(1), 2018