A study published in Health Affairs estimated that the VA’s Health IT system, the Veterans Health Information Systems Information Architecture (VISTA), may have saved the VA $3.09 billion between 1997 and 2007.  The researchers suggest that VISTA has made the provision of health care more efficient, with the biggest savings coming from its component electronic records infrastructure.  However, researchers note that the study only examined potential savings and emphasized the need for empirical studies.

Byrne, C.M., Mercincavage, L.M., Pan, E.C., Vincent, A.G., Johnston, D.S., Middleton, B. Health Affairs, 29(4): 629-638. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0119
The value from investments in health information technology at the U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/29/4/629

Authors: Colene M. Byrne, Lauren M. Mercincavage, Eric C. Pan, Adam G. Vincent, Douglas S. Johnston and Blackford Middleton