See the VIReC Data Issues Brief for March 2004 . Researchers are advised to supplement data on race in the Medical SAS Datasets starting in FY2003 with data on race from both VA datasets prior to FY2003 and VA Medicare data.

"Transition to the new race/ethnicity data collection standards in the Department of Veterans Affairs." Popul Health Metr. 2006 Jul 6;4(1):7

A recently published study by VIReC-affiliated investigators showed that a substantial proportion of Medicare-eligible older veterans who use VA services also receive healthcare outside the VA. The study found that over 80% of veterans in the VHA cohort used outpatient care paid for by Medicare, either alone or in combination with VA outpatient services in 1999. The study also examined individual, geographic, and environmental factors that affected the degree of reliance on VA inpatient and outpatient services.

provided by permission of Hynes et al.  “Veterans’ Access to and Use of Medicare and Veterans Affairs Health Care.” Med Care. 2007 Mar;45(3):214-23.

VIReC Cyber Seminars
VIReC hosts two monthly Cyber Seminar Series. They provide an opportunity for researchers to learn about (1) databases and methods for using them in research, and (2) clinical informatics and approaches for evaluating them to aid in research.