Using FY 1991 Region 1 PTF data, we tried to separate veterans from non-veterans. Overlapping or incongruous dates were mentioned by several respondents. Other specific elements found to be somewhat unreliable are the source and destination coding for transfers and reports of episodes possibly not being recorded. One respondent reported that their facility's Surgical ICU days had not been recorded in bed section files at least through FY 1990. In summary, it is surprising how little validity and reliability checking has taken place regarding this large and widely-used database.
More study is warranted.
On the other hand, it appears from the information we do have that we can be fairly confident that most episodes of care have been entered in recent years, with the possible exception of non-VA nursing homes. Since we do not know whether or not occurrences are randomly distributed across patients and episodes, it is important to review these potential problem variables and to assess them in the sample drawn. Completeness and consistency of the Patient Treatment File. Kang, Han K. Resources for epidemiologic research in Vietnam era veteran populations within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Epidemiology in Military and Veteran Populations.