See also: VIReC Summary of Long Term Care
Data
Description
VHA
Directive 2008-007 defines the RAI-MDS as "a
core set of screening, clinical and functional
status elements, including common definitions and
coding categories, that forms the foundation of
the comprehensive assessment for all residents
of long-term care facilities certified to participate
in Medicare and Medicaid and in Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Long-term Care and/or Nursing Home
Programs accredited under the Joint Commission
on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO)
Long-term Care Standards. Items in the RAI-MDS
standardize communication about patient problems
and conditions within facilities, between facilities,
and between facilities and outside agencies, including
between and among VA medical centers, Veterans
Integrated Services Networks (VISNs) and VHA headquarters."
Data Available
Data are currently available through the VA for
residents of VA nursing homes. Data collection
began in 2001, but it is recommended that researchers
use data from 2003 forward due to data quality issues.
Data on veterans in community nursing homes are available through CMS starting in 1998.
The VHA has obtained MDS data from CMS through a Memorandum of Understanding. Researchers
may request these data through the VA-Medicare Data Merge Initiative at VIReC.
Only nursing homes certified to participate in Medicare
and Medicaid are required to administer the MDS. Many State Veterans' Homes (SVH) are funded by the
VA and the states, but only about one-third administer
the MDS. If a SVH participates in Medicare
or Medicaid, MDS data on its residents are collected by CMS.
Access
To access the data, VA researchers should contact
Dr. Christa Hojlo at christa.hojlo@va.gov .
The requestor will be asked to complete a Data Use
Agreement (DUA). The DUA will be reviewed, and, if
approved, the requested data will be released to
the requestor at Austin Information Technology Center (AITC formerly: CFD; formerly: AAC).
Data Format
The Austin Information Technology Center (AITC formerly: CFD; formerly: AAC) stores the MDS data in an Oracle database. Data
are released to researchers as a comma delimited
file.
Documentation
Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS)
RAI-MDS
2.0 homepage - This is the version currently
used by CMS and the VA.
MDS
2.0 Software and Specifications
MDS
2.0 Manuals and Forms
MDS
3.0 - This version is still under development.
Research Data
Assistance Center (ResDAC)
MDS homepage
Data Quality Reports
from Health Care
Financing & Economics (HCFE) in October
2004
Validating MDS Data from VA Nursing Home Care Units:
Comparing VA and Community Quality Measures 
Validating MDS Data from VA Nursing Home Care Units:
Comparing MDS Data with PAF and NPCD Sources
Validating MDS Data from VA Nursing Home Care Units:
Data Appears to be Internally Consistent and Reliable
Annotated Bibliography
Bibliography
of Utilization of Minimum Data Set (MDS) Prepared by Paula
Joseph, RN, Graduate Student at Loyola University
Chicago School of Nursing.
Help
For additional support,
please contact the VIReC
Help Desk or call VIReC at 708-202-2413.
|
