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Introduction to VA Data

 

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This is a general introduction to the many sources of data in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The VHA is the country's largest integrated health care system in the U.S., comprising 162 VA hospitals, 137 nursing homes, 43 domiciliaries, and more than 850 community and facility-based clinics (Department of Veterans Affairs Strategic Plan 2003-2008, pg. 5) PDF file . In supporting this extensive health care system, the VHA has a long and successful history of using computerized data. (See S.H . Brown, et al., "VistA-U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Scale HIS," PubMed Abstract 12810119).

The VA Information Resource Center (VIReC) provides researchers with detailed and summary information about the data sources most often utilized by VA researchers. The VIReC Toolkit for New Users of VA Data emphasizes orientation to the Medical SAS Datasets, VHA's administrative data on inpatient and outpatient care. This introduction to VA data is intended to suggest the wider world of VHA data and to provide some guidance on searching for data in the VHA.

VHA Information Systems

VHA information systems exist at several levels:

  • Local : Local data reside in the VistA system. This system houses the electronic medical record at VHA health care facilities.

  • VISN : VHA organizes its local facilities into networks called VISNS (VA Integrated Service Networks). At the VISN level, VistA data from multiple local facilities may be combined into a data warehouse. For example, VISN 20 has created a VISN data warehouse (see the article "Data Cubes" in Government Computer News , June 17, 2002). Information about VISN data warehouses may be found via the Intranet Web sites of the VISNs (e.g., VISNs 2, 20, 22) or by contacting the VIReC Help Desk.

  • National : National level data generally refers to databases constructed from rolled-up local facility data and housed in a central location. The National Data Systems (NDS) division of Information Assurance, VHA Office of Information, maintains an inventory of corporate databases and produces the Corporate Database Monograph , which is available on the VIReC Web site.

Searching for VA Data

Monographs & Listings

  • Austin Information Technology Center (AITC formerly: CFD; formerly: AAC) Customer Information Guide , Chapter 3, "Applications, Tools, and Utilities,"

    Corporate Database Monograph , produced by National Data Systems division of Information Assurance, VHA Office of Information. The VIReC Web site includes the 2000-2001 edition of the monograph.

  • "Data Sources" and "Data Sources By Category" are pages in the VIReC Web site ( http://www.virec.research.va.gov).

Research Uses of VA Data

VA data have been used for many types of health services research. A database of research funded by the VA Health Services Research & Development Service can be searched to identify the data sources used. Go to the HSR&D Service Web site page on "Studies." The HSR&D Service Web site also includes abstracts of papers presented at HSR&D Service national meetings and a database of HSR&D investigators' publication and presentation citations, many of which report uses of VA data.

are important elements in the work of the VHA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) groups, and some QUERI groups are developing databases related to their respective foci. See the QUERI groups' Web sites for further information about their use of VA data.

Visit the VIReC Web site "Library" to review bibliographies of research based on specific VA data. Each of the VIReC Research User Guides includes bibliographic references that report research using the dataset(s) covered in the guide.