Patient Assessment File (PAF)

The Patient Assessment File (PAF) database compiles the results of the Patient Assessment Instrument (PAI) questionnaire filled out for intermediate care Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients. The PAI is filled out within two weeks of admission. It is also completed semi-annually on April 1st and October 1st for each patient by a registered nurse familiar with the patient. The PAI questions cover medical treatments, conditions, selected diagnoses, activities of daily living, behaviors, some rehabilitation therapies, and chronic respiratory support. The database is managed by the Geriatrics & Extended Care Strategic Health Care Group in the Office of Patient Care Services. It is currently running at the Austin Information Technology Center (AITC) and is stored in flat files. PAF's primary customer is the Allocation Resource Center (ARC) in Braintree MA. The ARC receives the data from AITC and combines it with data from the Patient Treatment File (PTF) which contains more detailed demographic and treatment information. The ARC builds ORACLE tables, assigning RUG II (Resource Utilization Group II) scores and weighted work units reflecting the level and type of care needed. The 16 different weighted work units, ranging from 479 to 1800, are a factor in the resource allocation and budget decisions on long-term care, and are used to measure efficiency. The data is also used in other reports to Central Office, the Veterans Integrated Service Networks, and the facilities. Several other units also use PAF information including the Decision Support System (DSS). Currently, PAF is in the process of being replaced by the Resident Assessment Instrument/Minimum Data Set (RAI/MDS). RAI/MDS uses a much more extensive questionnaire as its source of information. The RAI/MDS provides clinical data and care protocols in addition to the newer RUG III scores, and is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service funded hospitals.

Data and Resources

This dataset has no data

Field Value
accessLevel non-public
bureauCode {029:15}
catalog_@context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
catalog_@id https://www.data.va.gov/data.json
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
catalog_describedBy https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
dataQuality true
identifier VA-VHA-OIA-016
issued 2017-07-26
landingPage https://www.data.va.gov/d/iqru-8v7y
language {en-US}
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2020-12-01
programCode {029:054}
publisher Department of Veterans Affairs
resource-type Dataset
rights Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, protected health information.
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 36ba9c0d26b65f6b46b01a0e6cfb37c76b938dcad350c94432a51ca0c04b655d
source_schema_version 1.1
systemOfRecords https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-11/pdf/2012-11487.pdf
temporal 1987-01-01T05:00:00Z/2014-12-31T05:00:00Z
theme {"Basic Statistics",Use,"and Operational Data"}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • AmeriGEO
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • CKAN
  • GEO
  • GEOSS
  • National
  • North America
  • United States
  • assessment
  • file
  • instrument
  • patient
  • resource
  • rug
  • utilization
  • va
  • veteran
isopen True
license_id cc-zero
license_title Creative Commons CCZero
license_url http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-zero
maintainer VHA Open Data
maintainer_email vhaopendata@va.gov
metadata_created 2025-09-24T01:34:25.998899
metadata_modified 2025-09-24T01:34:25.998909
notes <p>The Patient Assessment File (PAF) database compiles the results of the Patient Assessment Instrument (PAI) questionnaire filled out for intermediate care Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients. The PAI is filled out within two weeks of admission. It is also completed semi-annually on April 1st and October 1st for each patient by a registered nurse familiar with the patient. The PAI questions cover medical treatments, conditions, selected diagnoses, activities of daily living, behaviors, some rehabilitation therapies, and chronic respiratory support. The database is managed by the Geriatrics &amp; Extended Care Strategic Health Care Group in the Office of Patient Care Services. It is currently running at the Austin Information Technology Center (AITC) and is stored in flat files. PAF's primary customer is the Allocation Resource Center (ARC) in Braintree MA. The ARC receives the data from AITC and combines it with data from the Patient Treatment File (PTF) which contains more detailed demographic and treatment information. The ARC builds ORACLE tables, assigning RUG II (Resource Utilization Group II) scores and weighted work units reflecting the level and type of care needed. The 16 different weighted work units, ranging from 479 to 1800, are a factor in the resource allocation and budget decisions on long-term care, and are used to measure efficiency. The data is also used in other reports to Central Office, the Veterans Integrated Service Networks, and the facilities. Several other units also use PAF information including the Decision Support System (DSS). Currently, PAF is in the process of being replaced by the Resident Assessment Instrument/Minimum Data Set (RAI/MDS). RAI/MDS uses a much more extensive questionnaire as its source of information. The RAI/MDS provides clinical data and care protocols in addition to the newer RUG III scores, and is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service funded hospitals.</p>
num_resources 0
num_tags 17
title Patient Assessment File (PAF)