Purpose: Access to VA cancer data gives cancer stakeholders insights into the burden of cancer in the VA patient population. OncoTrax cancer data, now collected for the first time, are uploaded to the Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) twice a month, where it can be accessed through cubes that are built and maintained by the VHA Support Service Center (VSSC). Tumor registrar training has commenced, and now other cancer stakeholders inside the VA will be invited to take part. This presentation is the first in a series of events planned as the Cancer Care Cube is rolled out nationally.
Method: After being unable to verify information that was needed to support decision making at the facility level, the VISN 16 Cancer Data Program Analyst developed a plan to aggregate data from the VA Regional Data Warehouse, and the idea of the VISN 16 Cancer Cube was born. The building of the first cube included the following steps: (1) determining the measures for the Cube; (2) constructing fact and dimension tables using SQL; (3) testing the data for accuracy; and (4) training end users on the process of navigation and use of the data included in the Cube. That Cube served as a pilot that drove efforts to expand data access nationally and is now ready for use. VA practitioners will be able to access the VA’s cancer data through the Cube, a tool that uses cancer case identification, based on histology and first course of treatment. Other cubes are being designed, one of particular importance being a Performance Measures Cube, overseen by the VA National Oncology Office.
Results: The Cancer Care Cube is being used on a limited basis at this time. VA-wide access will open as the national rollout and trainings progress. The Cube will help improve the quality of care by creating a complete picture of how the VA diagnoses and treats cancer available for evaluation by the providers themselves. The Cube will also help make patient-centered information resources available, so when it is properly used, it will enable practitioners to learn from the past history of patients in similar situations. Information being stored in the same system as other clinical and business elements will also enable a cross-referencing of data to create a complete and comprehensive picture of current processes, current spending, current successes, and challenges. Because of the Cancer Care Cube, there is a renewed interest in new projects that require data. Stakeholders are more apt to look for ways to use information that helps them track where they stand and what needs to improve, when the information is available. And new data reporting fields are continually being added, including those around the next Cube, which will encompass performance measure information.
Conclusions: As the Cube is adopted, stakeholders will devise new uses for the information as it becomes available. And as the technology evolves, there will be an ever increasing number of reports on which VA practitioners can rely. This presentation will introduce not only how the Cube works and how interested persons can access it, but also will describe how the Cube will be promoted, sustained, and users will be supported.