AS Ash, Boston University School of Medicine; DR Miller, CHQOER, VAMC, Bedford, MA; SM Wright, Office of Quality and Performance

Workshop Objectives: To familiarize attendees with a range of issues associated with merging the Health Care Financing Administration's Medicare and Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) data, including:

1) the nature of Medicare's data (enrollment and utilization files)

2) how to obtain Medicare data

3) how to merge Medicare and VHA data

4) what kinds of information are present (and missing) in each system, and how data from the two systems complement each other

5) the kinds of studies that can benefit from merged data

Workshop Activities: Researchers who have used both data systems will

1) describe the Medicare files, and their strengths and limitations, in detail

2) contrast volume and scope of the Medicare and the VHA data

3) provide step-by-step instructions on how to obtain Medicare data and merge it with VHA data

4) provide benchmarks for expected merge rates and for the volume and nature of data that can be found in Medicare but not VHA data

5) answer questions from participants about problems they may encounter in proposed protocols or that they have encountered in attempts to used merge Medicare-VHA data

Target Audience: VHA researchers who think they may need Medicare data to create a fuller picture of Veteran's health care utilization, or who wish to understand the differences in the kinds of care that VHA users who are Medicare enrollees seek from each system. Also, those who are working with such data and would like to discuss issues and concerns.

Audience Familiarity: Basic knowledge of VHA data, but not Medicare.