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)  .
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.
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