IT Saves $3 Billion in VA Health System from MedPage Today

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By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today

The Department of Veterans Affairs' long-term investment in healthcare information technology paid off at a rate of more than $500 million in net annual benefits from 2001 to 2007, researchers said.

That added up to more than $3 billion in benefits for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during the study period, after an initial billion-dollar loss.

In particular, the department's computerized patient record system "was the dominant contributor to both benefits and costs in our analysis," wrote Colene M. Byrne, PhD, and colleagues at the Center for Information Technology Leadership in Charlestown, Mass., in the April issue of Health Affairs.
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