How VA Is Using Big Data To Keep Patients Out Of The Hospital

The Partnership for Public Service and IBM Center for The Business of Government recently issued “From Data to Decisions III: Lessons from Early Analytics Programs,” which examines successful early government users of data to see how they got started, what sustained them and how the data was used to improve mission-critical programs.

The report identifies lessons learned to help federal leaders and managers avoid pitfalls, instill analytics faster and move more efficiently and effectively to create data-driven cultures.

The following case study, the second in a series of three excerpted from the report, examines how the Veterans Affairs Department uses data to minimize hospitalizations.

How VA Uses Data to Refine Patient Care

Outpatient care and services can keep patients out of the hospital and can keep them happier, healthier and alive longer, but doctors at the Veterans Health Administration did not always have the information they needed to make the most informed judgments.