Study: VA nets $3B in savings from health IT investment

Investments in health IT produced a net savings of $3.09 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs between 1997 and 2007, according to a new study. The technology also produced measurable gains in patient safety, outcomes and patient satisfaction, says the report, conducted by the Center for Information Technology Leadership, an academic research organization founded by Boston-based Partners HealthCare System. CITL published its findings in HealthAffairs.

During the decade studied, the VA spent about $4 billion on health IT but saved more than $7 billion as a result of the technology, CITL says. More than 86 percent of the savings were the result of reduced duplication and fewer medical errors, the organization found, based on a comparison of VA patients with diabetes to a similar population of Medicare patients.

"VA has seen its investment in health information technology pay off for veterans and taxpayers for many years, and this study provides positive evidence for this correlation," VA Secretary Eric Shinseki says, according to InformationWeek. "The benefits have exceeded costs, proving that the implementation of secure, efficient systems of electronic records is a good ideal for all our citizens."

For more information:
- see the CITL paper in Health Affairs (.pdf)
- read this InformationWeek story

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