Y Shen, Center for Health Quality, Outcomes, and Economic Research (CHQOER), an HSR&D Center of Excellence, Bedford, MA; Boston University School of Public Health, Boston; A Hendricks, Center for Health Quality, Outcomes, and Economic Research (CHQOER), an HSR&D Center of Excellence, Bedford, MA; Boston University School of Public Health, Boston

Objectives: Analyses of inpatient severity are essential for evaluating resource utilization and outcomes. 3M’s APR-DRG grouper, one severity measure, has been used in the private sector to identify utilization patterns and evaluate resource utilization and outcomes. Given the uniqueness of VA inpatient data, special modifications are needed to apply the APR-DRG method to VA settings. In this workshop, we will present the methodological issues in applying 3M APR-DRG grouper to VA inpatient care.

Activities: We will use our experience with the 3M APR-DRG grouper to highlight the steps involved in preparing the required information derived from VA’s inpatient treatment file (PTF) to generate severity levels for acute care. More specifically, this workshop will consist of the following:

1. Background and contexts for the 3M APR-DRG grouper.

2. Background of VA PTF files and the rationale for generating acute inpatient stays.

3. How to generate acute inpatient stays based on PTF file.

4. How to convert VA inpatient data to the fixed format required by the APR-DRG grouper. Examples of SAS programming will be distributed.

5. Examples of evaluating resource utilization across VISNs based on the results of APR-DRG grouper using VA FY 97 and 98 data. Analysis of the correlation of severity and length of stay (LOS) will be presented.

Target Audience: Health services researchers who are interested in assessing severity measure and evaluating resource utilization and outcomes.

Audience Familiarity: Familiarity with VA PTF file would be helpful but is not required.