Using VistA Electronic Medical Record Data Extracts to Calculate the Waiting Time for Total Knee Arthroplasty
Received 20 April 2009; accepted 11 October 2009. published online 21 December 2009.
Abstract
This is a retrospective database study of veterans who had total knee arthroplasty (TKA) at Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System. The objective of this study is to determine if VistA medical records data can be used to create a methodology for accurate assessment of waiting times for TKAs performed at Veterans Affairs facilities. The average waiting period from date of “initial consult” to date TKA was performed was greater than two years. The average waiting period from “most recent consult” to TKA was less than a year. This new approach and methodology has great impact as it provides an electronic method for calculating the TKA wait time which is broadly generalizable for similar analysis at the VISN (Veteran Integrated Services Network) or regional level.
⁎Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
†VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut
Reprint requests: Tamseela Hussain, MD, Fellow in Biomedical Informatics, Yale Center for Medical Informatics, 300 George Street Suite 501, New Haven, CT 06511.
Benefits or funds were received in support of the study: grant LM07199, which is cofunded by the National Library of Medicine and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and by grant T15-LM07065 from the National Library of Medicine.
ABSTRACT