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VIReC Database and Methods Seminar

Studying Utilization with MedSAS and CDW Data: How Do Changing Data Structures Affect Health Services Research Processes?


by Peter Richardson, PhD
Seminar date: 12/5/2016

Description: This VIReC Database & Methods cyberseminar will give VA data users a glimpse of data in VA MedSAS and the Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) that can be used to examine outpatient healthcare utilization. The presenter will discuss cases in which he used diagnosis, procedure, and other encounter data to investigate a variety of utilization constructs. Dr. Richardson will also describe resources, tools, and methods for working with these data. The intended audience for this session includes investigators, data analysts, and statisticians who use outpatient encounter data in their studies. About the Database & Methods Cyberseminar Series The VIReC Database & Methods Cyberseminar Series presents informational seminars to help VA researchers access and use VA databases for research. Sessions include information about: 1.) Types of data and VA information systems; 2.) Uses of VA data in past research and new applications; 3.) Limitations of secondary data use in research; and 4.) Resources to support researchers’ use of VA data. Objectives • Describe and compare common sources of VA outpatient data, including MedSAS and CDW. • Describe tools and resources for working with these data. • Provide examples of using encounter-level data for measuring outpatient healthcare utilization. • Illustrate how outpatient utilization data and measurement paradigms have changed with shifts in available data.



DOWNLOAD: PDF handout | Audio only (mp3) | transcript


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