3005. How to use Decision Support System Cost Data for Research?
Wei Yu, PhD, VA Health Economics Resource Center, E McSherry, VA DSS Program Office, M Smith, VA Health Economics Resource Center, R Michell, VA DSS Program Office, P Barnett, VA Health Economics Resource Center

Workshop Objectives: Researchers will learn about national extracts from the VA Decision Support System available at the Austin Automation Center with cost, pharmacy, laboratory and radiology data. They will also learn about detailed utilization and cost data from the DSS production database.

Workshop Activities: The workshop will include four presentations: (1) Mitchell will provide an overview of the DSS system, (2) Barnett will discuss specific issues on using DSS data for research. (3) McSherry will describe how researchers can obtain information about the cost of intermediate products used within a hospital stay or outpatient visit. (4) Yu will describe national files with the costs of hospital stays and outpatient visits, and how these may be linked to clinical data in other Austin files. (5) Smith will describe the new DSS national pharmacy extract that contains costs of filled prescriptions.

Target Audience: Researchers in health services and clinical trials and managers

Audience Familiarity: Cost or cost-effectiveness analysis is an important factor in decision making when a new intervention is recommended. This workshop will improve researchers’ knowledge on DSS costs and promote economics analysis in VA healthcare research. Understanding DSS national cost data extracts also help VA administrators and policy makers on resource management.