by
Ahmed Mohamed, BVSc, MSc, PhD
;
Amy Rosen, PhD
;
Megan Vanneman, PhD, MPH
;
Todd Wagner, PhD
Seminar date: 1/8/2024
Description: Given that VA enrollees receive a considerable amount of health care outside VA, there is a high level of interest in acquiring non-VA healthcare data to capture a more complete picture of Veterans' healthcare utilization and to improve the quality of VA studies and evaluations. Although the VA research and operations community has access to national VA-purchased community care, Medicare, and Medicaid data, incorporating these data into studies or evaluations does not completely round out the utilization picture for VA enrollees for a couple principal reasons. First, these data only represent utilization and costs in these specific programs and, in particular, do not account for the large amount of care received by Veterans who have private health insurance. Second, there can be a time lag between when a Veteran is seen for services and when some of the non-VA healthcare data is released. One possible avenue for more complete data and possibly reducing the time lag is to work with states, for example acquiring state All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs). In order to acquire these data, individual research or operations teams need to request these data by working with state contacts and also ensure data security through VA procedures. This cyberseminar will focus on both the logistics of acquiring these data as well as the benefits of their inclusion in VA studies and evaluations. Joining as a discussant is Catherine Battaglia, PhD, Nurse Scientist and Core Investigator at the Denver-Seattle Center of Innovation at the Rocky Mountain VA and the Office of Nursing Service.
Objectives:
1) Share why APCD or other state data is important for VA research and evaluation.
2) Provide recommendations on which state data to include.
3) Give direction on the logistics for acquiring these data.
DOWNLOAD: PDF handout | Audio only (mp3) | transcript not yet available
