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VA Saves $3 Billion By Improving Laboratory Testing

February 4, 2011 -The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) saved over $3 billion over the last 10 years by investing in health informatics, according to a recently published study. The study's results will likely have positive repercussions on how clinical pathology lab tests are used and improved through information technology (IT).  

The VA invested over $4 billion on health IT (HIT) over the course of the study. As a result, the VA saved a total of about $7 billion. Taking away the initial investment, the VA saved $3 billion over the 10 years included in the study. The reasons for these savings can be attributed to multiple sources. The HIT the VA used:

• Eradicated duplicative testing;
• Reduced medical errors;
• Lowered the VA's operating expenses; and
• Reduced the VA's workloads.

The VA spends significantly more money on IT than the private sector. The VA is also much more integrated with their HIT and uses it much more effectively. Consequently, the VA provides a higher level of health care, according to the study.

The VA has long been at the helm of creating integrated health informatics systems. It is therefore not terribly surprising that their use of HIT shows such significant savings.