Table 4.
Selected Data Sources Available for the Assessment of Women Veterans' Health and Health Care
| Data Source | Description |
|---|---|
| National Survey of Veterans (NSV)* | Approximately decennial survey (2001, 1992, etc.) conducted among random digit dial (RDD) veteran samples augmented by VA administrative lists of VA users to provide national estimates for veterans overall and for key subgroups (n=20,048, 2001 NSV) |
| Contains sociodemographic characteristics, period of service, combat exposure, insurance coverage, VA and non-VA health care utilization, health status, functional limitations, health conditions, eligibility, and more | |
| Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (SHEPs)† | Adapted from earlier annual patient satisfaction surveys launched in the mid 1990s Random samples of veteran users of VA services |
| Contains data on health status, quality of life, health care utilization, satisfaction, etc. | |
| External Peer Review Program (EPRP)† | Part of VHA's performance measurement system composed of externally abstracted medical record data from randomly sampled records of VA users at each VA facility |
| Patient- and facility-level data on chronic disease quality (e.g., foot sensation exams among diabetics) and preventive practice (e.g., flu shots) | |
| Large Survey of Veterans† | National survey sample of veteran users of VA health care (includes about 33,000 women) (1999) |
| Includes health status, conditions, satisfaction, utilization, quality of life, etc. | |
| VHA Medical SAS Datasets (utitlization data)‡ | National administrative data for VA-provided health care used primarily by veterans, but also by some non-veterans (e.g., employees) (housed in Austin Automation Center) |
| Includes medical inpatient data (acute, extended, observation, non-VA) organized by stay, bedsection, procedures and surgeries; outpatient data (visits and events); long-term care data (representing an array of services in VA nursing homes, community nursing homes, domiciliaries, home-based primary care, home health care, etc.) | |
| VA-Medicare Data‡ | Linked VA and Medicare health care utilization data, including Part A and B claims, and patient and provider information files |
| Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) Program‡ | Prescription information for all VA patients who obtain their prescriptions within the VA system (available from FY 1999 through present) |
| Useful for studying prescribing habits, drug utilization trends, and pharmacoeconomics | |
| Decision Support System (cost data)‡, § | Contains data on the cost of care of every individual patient care encounter in VA Starts from fiscal year 1998 in national extracts organized by inpatient discharges, inpatient treating specialty files, and outpatient files |
| National Survey Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP)∥ | National, validated, outcomes-based, risk-adjusted program for measurement and enhancement of surgical care (begun in 1991) |
| Currently incorporates all VAMCs and 14 private hospitals with extensive surgical data | |
| Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) Centers¶ | National initiative to translate research into practice organized around specific conditions (diabetes, mental health, ischemic heart disease, spinal cord injury, HIV/AIDS, colorectal cancer, stroke, substance abuse) |
| Selected QUERIs have developed patient registries allowing for disease-based analyses | |
| Women Veterans Health Program (WVHP) Evaluation# | Organizational data at the VISN, VA medical center, and practice levels, with multiple perspectives available at the practice-level |
| Includes structure, staffing, leadership, authority, resource sufficiency, etc. |
*
Full survey final report and national frequencies online at http://www.va.gov/vetdata/SurveyResults/final.htm.
†
Available through formal Data Use Agreements with the VA Office of Quality and Performance (OQP).
‡
VA Information Resource and Education Center (VIREC) (http://www.virec.research.med.va.gov).
§
VA Health Economics Resource Center (HERC) (http://www.herc.research.med.va.gov).
∥
VA National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (http://www.nsqip.org).
¶
VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) (http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/queri/) (links to individual QUERI Centers also available through this web address).
#
Women Veterans Health Program (WVHP) Office (http://www1/va/gov/wvhp).