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Database & Methods Cyberseminar Series
Navigating the VA Data Landscape
VIReC's Database & Methods Series is an introductory guide to VA data and information systems. Sessions are designed to help VA researchers understand common VA data sources and how they are used in research and quality improvement. This series is suitable for all levels.
Current Schedule
VIReC’s Database & Methods Cyberseminar Series is updated yearly to address changes in the data environment. It begins with an introduction to VIReC and VA databases, an overview of resources for using these data, and information about data access and request processes. Presenters will then discuss a variety of data topics and sources, describing how VA data can be applied to research and quality improvement questions. Select the Special Topics Archive tab above to explore cyberseminars from previous years on topics such as comorbidities, laboratory data and more.
| Session | Upcoming | Archived |
|---|---|---|
| Meet VIReC: The Researcher's Guide to VA Data Learn about VIReC, a key resource for navigating VA’s complex data landscape and an advocate for data user needs. This session provides an overview of VIReC activities, products, and services along with a tour of the Center's websites and online resources. Presented by: Maria Souden |
- | View 10/6/25 |
| Centralized Interactive Phenomics Resource (CIPHER): Phenotype Library and Tool Demonstration Overview and live demonstration of CIPHER, a knowledgebase of computable electronic health records (EHR)-based phenotypes, tools, and resources for health data users. Presented by: Kelly Cho Jacqueline Honerlaw |
- | View 10/9/25 |
| An Introduction to Commonly Used VA Databases Provides an overview of commonly used VA data sources and some resources for using them effectively. Presented by: Maria Souden |
- |
View 11/3/25 |
| Introduction to the GECDAC Core Files This cyberseminar will provide an overview of the GECDAC Core Files (GCF). Presented by: Winifred Scott |
- | View 12/1/25 |
| An Introduction to VA Pharmacy Data This session provides an overview of pharmacy data sources and describes how to locate pharmacy data within the CDW. Presented by: Kjersti Rich |
- | View 1/5/26 |
| VHA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW): Using CDW Data to Conduct a Research Study for Intermediate SQL Users Demonstrates how to conduct a simple study using CDW data for intermediate-level SQL programmers. Presented by: Anne Hines |
- | View 2/2/26 |
| Federal Electronic Health Record (Millennium) Data: Introduction & Navigating Key Resources This cyberseminar focuses on navigating resources and tools for understanding Federal EHR/Millennium databases. Presented by: Kjersti Rich |
- |
View 3/2/26 |
| Assessing Race and Ethnicity in VA Data This session provides an updated overview on locating VA race and ethnicity data and assesses the quality of these data in VA and Medicare. Presented by: Maria Mor |
- | View 4/13/26 |
| Using VA REDCap to Support Maternal and Infant Outcomes Research & Infertility Program Metrics Tracking Learn about how VA REDCap can be applied as an effective tracking and data management tool to support research in maternal and infant outcomes, as well as the monitoring of infertility program metrics. Presented by: Bonnie Paris & Maneesha Gulati |
- | View 5/4/26 |
| Integrated Veteran Care_Consolidated Data Set (IVC_CDS): A Review of Community Care Claims Data and FAQs Reviews the referrals, claims, and patient data in the Office of Integrated Veteran Care Consolidated Data Set schema (ivc_cds); answers to frequently asked questions will also be covered. Presented by: Erin Beilstein-Wedel & Megan Vanneman | - |
View 6/1/26 |
| Introduction to the VA Mortality Data Repository This cyberseminar provides an overview of the VA Mortality Data Repository (MDR). Presented by: Sybil Morley & Brady Stephens |
Register 7/20/26 |
- |
| Geriatric Extended Care: Age-Friendly Data (tentative) Presented by: Mitchell S. Metellus & Mazhgan Rowneki |
Register 8/3/26 |
- |
| Electronic Health Record Modernization Update (tentative) Presented by: Maria Souden & Hannah Gelman |
Register 9/14/26 |
- |
Special Topics Archive
The Database & Methods Cyberseminar Archive lists prior sessions. It features presentations from the current year’s schedule along with those from previous years. Sessions are point-in-time. Information is current and accurate for the year in which the information was presented.
Select a title below to access the recording, handout, and transcript for that session.
All-Payer Claims Data
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8/2024 | Requesting and Including State Data, Including All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs), in VA Studies and Evaluations Shares why APCD or other state data is important for VA research and evaluation. Provides recommendations on which state date to include. Giving direction on the logistics for acquiring these data. |
All Payer Claims | Ahmed Mohamed, Amy Rosen, Megan Vanneman & Todd Wagner |
Comorbidity
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/9/2019 | Advanced Comorbidity Measures Takes a deep dive into comorbidity measures for a more advanced audience. |
Comorbidity | Denise Hynes |
Community Care
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/5/2024 | Understanding VA-Purchased Community Care Claims and Referrals from the Office of Integrated Veteran Care Consolidated Data Set (IVC_CDS) This seminar covers basic knowledge necessary to access and analyze VA-purchased community care data from IVC_CDS clams and referrals data. |
Community Care | Erin Beilstein-Wedel, Matthew Labo, Megan Vanneman & Todd Wagner |
Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW)
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/2/2026 | VHA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW): Using CDW Data to Conduct a Research Study for Intermediate SQL Users This cyberseminar will demonstrate how to conduct a simple study using CDW data and is geared towards intermediate-level SQL programmers (Intranet only). |
CDW | Anne Hines |
| 9/9/2025 | Understanding the VA MPI and Associated Tables in CDW Explores the functionalities of the MPI, the core tables that contain essential patient identity information, and how these can be leveraged to enhance patient care and data accuracy. We will also discuss the role of MPI in correlating patient identities across the entire VA enterprise, encompassing 130 Vista systems and external entities such as the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) (Intranet only). |
CDW | Meredith Humphreys |
| 6/23/2024 | VHA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW): Using CDW Data to Conduct a Research Study This seminar demonstrates conducting a simple study in the CDW using VA data, focusing on attendees who consider themselves to be beginner-level SQL programmers. |
CDW | Anne Hines |
| 5/22/2023 | VHA Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW): A Conceptual Overview This seminar summarizes terms and concepts associated with relational databases and provides an overview of the VHA’s Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) as it exists in 2023. |
CDW | Margaret Gonsoulin |
COVID-19 Data
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/2/2025 | Description of the CORC (COVID-19) Research Data Repository (RDR) This cyberseminar will provide an overview of the CORC RDR which contains information on Veterans who have tested positive for COVID-19, their matched uninfected counterparts, and COVID-19 vaccines received by VA enrollees. (Intranet only) |
COVID-19 | George Ioannou & Kristin Wyatt |
Data Access
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/14/2024 | VA Data Access Requirements for Operations Focuses on the regulatory requirements and processes for requesting access to VA data for operations (i.e., non-research) purposes. |
Data Access | Angela Jannotta |
| 11/6/2024 | Requesting Data Preparatory to Research Provides guidance will discuss VINCI services available to researchers in the preparatory to research stage, how to submit a preparatory to research request in the Data Access Request Tracker (DART) and provide tips for preparing a research protocol and study team. |
Data Access | Olga Efimova |
| 10/10/2024 | VA Data Access Preparatory to Research Requirements Provides an overview of the documents required and information needed for preparatory to research purposes, as well as helpful VHA web resources to inform and support the data user's path. |
Data Access | Angela Jannotta |
| 10/2/2024 | Requesting Research Data Access Using DART Provides those wanting to do research how to request access to data for either Preparatory to Research or IRB research. To understand how to manage DART requests through their lifecycle and what your role is. As well as, what to expect following approval. |
Data Access | Tim Trautman |
| 9/4/2024 | VA Data Access Requirements for Research (intranet only) Focuses on the regulatory requirements for requesting access to existing databases containing Veterans' healthcare information. |
Data Access | Angela Jannotta |
| 12/4/2023 | Navigating VA Data Access: An Overview of the Process for Requesting Permission to Use VA Data Provides guidance on determining the data necessary for research and operations projects and describes the framework for requesting access to commonly used VA data sources, including where to find specific instructions for the most frequently analyzed VA data sources. |
Data Access | Linda Kok |
Electronic Health Record Databases & Tools, e.g., JLV
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/2/2026 | Federal Electronic Health Record/Millennium Data: Introduction & Navigating Key Resources
This session focuses on navigating resources and tools for understanding Federal EHR/Millennium databases (Intranet only). |
EHR | Kjersti Rich |
| 7/23/2025 | Conducting Research with the New Federal EHR: An Update from the National Research Council and OSIRES
This session discusses lessons learned from the first implementations of the Federal EHR at research sites, the place of research in the EHR implementation, and key points of functionality for research in the new EHR (Intranet only). |
EHR | Maria Souden & Hannah Gelman |
| 7/21/2025 | Text Searching Pre-Configured Widgets in JLV (Joint Longitudinal Viewer) Learn how to text search PDF reports created from widgets with locked filters in JLV (Intranet only). |
JLV, EHR | Reese Omizo |
| 7/7/2025 | Applications for Joint Longitudinal Viewer (JLV) in Research: Introduction This session is the first of a two-part series describing what is needed to begin using JLV for research, including an interactive presentation on setting up a JLV workspace for basic research tasks (Intranet only). |
JLV, EHR | Reese Omizo |
Geriatrics & Extended Care Data
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/1/2025 | Introduction to the Geriatrics and Extended Care Data Analysis Center (GECDAC) Core Files Presents an overview of the GCF, describes the structure and key variables and provides examples of how the GCF can be used (Intranet only). |
GECDAC Core File | Winifred Scott |
| 1/9/2023 | Geriatrics and Extended Care Data Analysis Center Residential History File (GECDAC RHF) Presents details of the database system structure, the business rules developed to create it, and some applications using it along with useful SAS coding. |
Geriatrics & Extended Care, RHF | Orna Intrator & Rajesh Makineni |
Laboratory & Pharmacy Data
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/5/2026 | An Introduction to VA Pharmacy Data Provides an overview of pharmacy data sources and how to locate these data within the CDW (Intranet only). |
Pharmacy, CDW | Kjersti Rich |
| 5/6/2024 | An Introduction to VA Pharmacy Data: Sources and Uses for Medication Information Explores the content and structure of pharmacy datasets in the VA and applied uses of pharmacy data for research. |
Pharmacy, CDW | Timothy Anderson & Bonnie Parris |
| 6/3/2019 | Diagnoses, Labs, and Meds, Oh My! Using CDW to Define a Study Cohort by Multiple Criteria Demonstrates how to identify studies cohorts based on occurrence of condition-relevant ICD-9/10 codes, utilization of condition-relevant medication, and condition-relevant lab results. |
CDW Lab Data |
Peter Richardson & Kathryn Royse |
Medicare
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/22/2025 | Technical Details of Using CMS Data in VA Research Provides technical information about using data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in VA research, including details of who is in the data, timeliness of data, requesting data, and accessing the data after approval (Intranet only). |
Medicare Data Medicaid Veterans |
Kristin de Groot |
| 3/11/2025 | Using Medicare Data in VA Research: Part 2 Provides detailed information about the source of the Medicare data, dataset structure, and commonly used variables. Data types covered include Medicare enrollment data, fee-for-service claims, Medicare Advantage encounters, and Part D data. New users should review Using Medicare Data in VA research: Part 1 (Intranet only). |
Medicare Data Veterans |
Kristin de Groot |
| 10/22/2024 | Using Medicare Data in VA research: Part 1 Provides an overview of Medicare data available to VA researchers and describe how these data can be used to identify Veterans healthcare services received outside the VA, paid by Medicare. Examples of VA research that utilize Medicare data will be presented. The target audience is investigators and data users that are new to Medicare data. |
Medicare Data Veterans |
Kristin de Groot |
| 7/30/2024 | Medicare Data in the OMOP Common Data Model Describes the VA’s transformation of Medicare data into the OMOP common data model (CDM) and how the data in this format allows it to be more easily used with other instances of OMOP data in VA. |
Medicare Data Veterans |
Kristin de Groot |
Patient-Generated Health Data
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/4/2024 | Understanding and Accessing the Office of Connected Care's Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD) Database Provides an overview of PGHD and how this database may be leveraged for research and operations purposes. We will explore the database's structure, the types of data it contains, and important considerations when using these data. |
Patient-Generated Health Data | Terry Newton, Stephanie Shimada & Mark Zocchi |
Phenomics
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/9/2025 | Centralized Interactive Phenomics Resource (CIPHER): Phenotype Library and Tool Demonstration Overview and live demonstration of CIPHER, a knowledgebase of computable electronic health records (EHR)-based phenotypes, tools, and resources for health data users (Intranet only). |
CIPHER, EHR, Phenomics | Kelly Cho & Jacqueline Honerlaw |
| 9/9/2024 | Centralized Interactive Phenomics Resource (CIPHER): Overview and Demonstration of the VA Phenomics Library Provides an overview and updates from CIPHER, the VA Phenomics Library. CIPHER is a catalog and knowledge-sharing platform of electronic health record (EHR) based phenomics metadata and annotations that aims to optimize Veterans' health data, drive collaborative research and improve clinical operations. |
CIPHER, EHR, Phenomics | Kelly Cho, Ashley Galloway & Jacqueline Honerlaw |
Race/Ethnicity
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/13/2026 | Assessing Race and Ethnicity in VA Data Describes how to locate race and ethnicity data and assess its quality in VA and Medicare (Intranet only). |
Race, Medicare | Maria Mor |
USVETS
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/6/2019 | United States Veterans Eligibility Trends and Statistics: A New Data Source with Socioeconomic Variables Introduces USVETS database including addressing its accuracy, completeness, consistency, validity, and timeliness; defines available socioeconomic data; and describes process to obtain access to USVETS. |
USVETS | Ankur Bhargava & George Hauser |
VA REDCap
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/4/2026 | Using VA REDCap to Support Maternal and Infant Outcomes Research & Infertility Program Metrics Tracking Learn about how VA REDCap can be applied as an effective tracking and data management tool to support research in maternal and infant outcomes, as well as the monitoring of infertility program metrics (Intranet only).. |
VA REDCap, Primary Data Collection | Bonnie Paris & Maneesha Gulati |
| 4/15/2025 | Moving a Project from Qualtrics to VA REDCap Provides an example of migrating a project from Qualtrics to VA REDCap with lessons learned, and provide links to resources to support you in the process (Intranet only). |
VA REDCap, Primary Data Collection | Bonnie Paris & Lewis Greenstein |
| 3/18/2025 | VA REDCap 101 Describes benefits and limitations of VA REDCap, reviews basic and advanced features of VA REDCap, and provides additional resources for training and support (Intranet only). |
VA REDCap, Primary Data Collection | Bonnie Paris |
Spinal Cord Injuries & Disorders
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/6/2023 | Overview of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Spinal Cord Injuries & Disorders Registry (VHA SCIDR) Introduces the VHA SCIDR as the SCI/D population case-identification platform and how to connect the data set to all Veterans' VHA healthcare data. |
Spinal Cord Injuries & Disorders | Jennifer Sippel, Adam Eberhart & Bridget Smith |
Vital Status/Mortality
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/6/2023 | VHA Death Ascertainment File (DAF) and Other Data Sources for Mortality Ascertainment Describes the new VHA Death Ascertainment File and summarize other sources available for death ascertainment. |
Mortality, VSF, Vital Status | Noreen Arnold |
| 6/27/2022 | New VHA Vital Status File Introduces the new VHA Death Ascertainment File (DAF) which replaces the current VHA Vital Status File (VSF). |
Mortality, VSF, Vital Status | Noreen Arnold |
| 3/7/2022 | Ascertaining Veterans’ Vital Status: Data Sources for Mortality Ascertainment and Cause of Death Identifies data sources for Veteran vital status ascertainment and describes the strengths and limitations of these data sources for mortality ascertainment |
Mortality, VSF, Vital Status | Charles Maynard |
Weight Data
| Date | Title | Key Topic(s) | Presenter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/6/2020 | WEIGHT WEIGHT…DO TELL ME!: Comparing algorithms to process and clean CDW weight data Compares algorithms identified from a systematic literature review used to process and clean administrative (CDW) weight data, leading to practical recommendations. |
CDW, Weight Data |
Jennifer Burns, Laura Damschroder, Richard Evans & Wyndy Wiitala |
