The Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) database resides in the VA National Surgery Office (NSO) and is a quality assurance activity-derived database containing information on all patients who undergo surgery within the VA. The primary purpose of this database is to improve the quality of care for Veterans undergoing surgery by providing information to care provider teams for self-assessment and quality improvement purposes. Data for the VASQIP database are entered by nurse data managers using Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) at the VA surgical facilities. These data captured in VistA are securely transmitted to the VASQIP database for compilation and analysis. Results of the data analysis are reported from the National Surgery Office (NSO) for quarterly and annual review of surgical quality and patient care issues; these data are confidential and privileged under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. 5705 and its implementing regulations. Note: In 2009, the Cardiac Specialty program (Continuous Improvement in Cardiac Surgery Program (CICSP)) was merged with the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) for a comprehensive all-specialty surgical database, VASQIP. It employs both Microsoft SQL Server and Statistical Analysis Software implementation.

The Surgery Risk Assessment (SRA) database is part of the VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP). This database contains assessments of selected surgical operations performed at Veteran Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs). Addition to the SRA database requires that the surgery is Major (as defined by the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes assigned to the surgery), it must not be cardiac related, and it may not be concurrent with another surgery. Frequently performed other types of surgeries may also be excluded. Nurse reviewers at VAMCs gather the information from surgical data located in the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) environment. Information is also collected from pre-and post-operative charts and from interviews with patients. This information is entered into VistA and transmitted daily by a batch process to the Hines Office of Information & Technology (OI&T) Field Office. While the database has been in operation since 1995, the system only contains data for the current fiscal year. The data from previous fiscal years is archived if later retrieval is needed. Valid transmissions are sent to the VASQIP office at Denver for analysis. Information from non-assessed surgeries is transmitted from the VAMCs to the Hines OI Field Office monthly. This is also passed along to VASQIP at Denver. The users of this database include the VASQIP Executive Board.

This database is part of the National Medical Information System (NMIS). The Patient Treatment File (PTF) contains a record for each inpatient care episode provided under VA auspices in VA and non-VA facilities nationwide. Each episode contains data on admission, diagnosis, procedures, surgical episodes, and disposition (discharge) information and Diagnostic Related Group (DRG). Each transfer is recorded to allocate days of care properly to the service(s) responsible for that care. Recurring and special purpose reports are used for studies on patient movement trends, diagnostic frequency, workload, budget preparation, Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) assignment and accreditation requirements. Reports are available for online access via Roger's Software Development's (RSD) Online Report Viewing. Several large data files are installed on-line at the Austin Information Technology Center for remote access. Selected data can be downloaded to perform end user processing, including report generation. Information is received from a variety of modules in Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture. This batch system is written in Common Business Oriented Language and ALC. Processing is done on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.