A Comparison of Multiple Data Sources to Identify Vaccinations for Veterans with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders
- Frances M Weaver,
- Michael Hatzakis,
- Charlesnika T Evans,
- Bridget Smith,
- Sherri L LaVela,
- Carolyn Wallace,
- Marcia W Legro,
- Barry Goldstein
- Affiliations of the authors: Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research, Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, IL, and Institute for Health Services and Policy Research, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL (FMW); Departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Washington School of Medicine, and Rehabilitation Care Services, Puget Sound VA Health Care System, Seattle, WA (MH); Hines VA Hospital, Hines, IL (CTE, BS, SLL); Puget Sound VA Health Care System, Seattle, WA (CW, MWL); and Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders Strategic Healthcare Group, Puget Sound VA Health Care System, and Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (BG)
- Correspondence and reprints: Frances M. Weaver, PhD, Midwest Center for Health Services and Policy Research, 151H, VA Hospital, Hines, IL 60141; e-mail: <weaver{at}research.hines.med.va.gov>
- Received 15 December 2003
- Accepted 4 April 2004
Abstract
Monitoring vaccination activity requires regular access to information about patient vaccination status. This report describes our experience using multiple Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data sources to determine availability and completeness of vaccination information for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI&D). Administrative and clinical databases were limited to coding vaccine administration, undercounted vaccinations, and were unable to account for whether the vaccine was offered and the reasons for nonreceipt. Medical record review provided more detail but was labor intensive and costly. Patient surveys provided the richest information but were costly, time-consuming, and based on a sample of patients. Agreement was poor between data sources. This report suggests that while VA is well positioned to use national databases for clinical care decisions and to inform policy, vaccination data were incomplete. Electronic records must include data that are consistently entered and validated before they can be useful for care management and decision making.
Footnotes
-
Funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) Program within the Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Service, Washington, DC (SCI 98-001; SCT 01-169).
The authors thank Scott Miskevics, BS, and Jibby Chittet, MPH, for their contributions to this report.
The views presented in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
-
↵* EPRP data are available through a data use agreement. Recent information is available on the VA Intranet site (http://vaww.oqp.med.va.gov/default.htm). Investigators must submit a signed data use agreement, a research protocol, institutional review board approval, and a list of EPRP variables of interest. Limits include data only available for a sample of patients; sample varies by year.
