Veterans Health Administration Care and Cost Allocation Data

The Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) database integrates patient-specific care and cost data from over 10 clinical and financial source systems, including the Patient Treatment File and Decision Support System. Operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, it serves as the basis for resource allocation across the Veterans Health Administration. The data is aggregated from monthly extracts for reporting and analysis.

Use Cases

• Analyze patient-specific care and cost data for each hospitalization or visit to model resource allocation.
• Develop aggregate tables from clinical sources like the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set for performance reporting.
• Combine data from the Pharmacy Benefits Management and Fee Basis Medical systems to assess pharmaceutical expenditure patterns.
• Use Decision Support System cost data to evaluate program-level financial efficiency within the Veterans Health Administration.

Strengths

• Integrates data from over 10 distinct clinical and financial source systems, including the Patient Treatment File and Clinical Case Registry.
• Data is updated monthly from source systems like the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture.
• Serves as the official basis for resource allocation across the entire Veterans Health Administration.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column details, and file formats are not provided, limiting initial assessment of analytical scope.
• The description focuses on system architecture and purpose, lacking concrete details on data granularity, time range, or geographic coverage.
• As an internal allocation system, the data may contain domain-specific codes and structures requiring VA context for full interpretation.

Provenance

Source

Department of Veterans Affairs, specifically the Allocation Resource Center (ARC) in Braintree, MA.

Collection Method

Data is developed by combining monthly extracts from clinical systems (e.g., Patient Treatment File, Pharmacy Benefits Management) and financial systems (e.g., Decision Support System).

Freshness

Updated monthly; last metadata update was 2025-08-02.