Under the Clay Hunt Act, VA must evaluate nine programs annually across suicide prevention, mental health treatment, substance use disorder care, opioid prescribing and services for women Veterans. VA also must assess how well providers follow clinical practice guidelines for chronic pain management.
These evaluations require complex data collection, analysis and reporting while accounting for ongoing health system changes and evolving Veteran needs. VA relies on Aptive to lead this work and support delivery of required reporting to Congress.
Aptive supports the largest ongoing suicide prevention and behavioral health program evaluation in the federal government. The team applies a rigorous methodology to assess VA programs in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Each year, Aptive reviews VA literature, program documentation and relevant clinical data sets. The team conducts interviews with VA experts to gather context about access, operations and effectiveness. These discussions help identify data sources, evaluation gaps and program variations.
Evaluation design and data analysis
The team develops and executes a comprehensive methodology using metrics tied to access, patient outcomes, satisfaction, comorbidities, care intensity and cost. Aptive collects and validates data from multiple sources and uses advanced analytic methods to evaluate system performance.
In addition to evaluating program effectiveness, Aptive assesses VA opioid prescribing practices and compares them with national guidelines. Year-over-year analyses allow Aptive to track progress, surface new challenges and adapt methodologies based on evolving conditions such as the impact of COVID-19.
Aptive consults with more than two dozen internal and external experts to validate findings and shape practical, high-impact recommendations. Final recommendations are reviewed by an expert panel before being submitted to VA and Congress.
Aptive submits an Annual Report to Congress that includes a summary of best practices, findings on program performance and targeted recommendations for improvement. The most recent report exceeds 400 pages and reflects the full scope of evaluation activities.
Each year, Aptive builds on its prior work to expand the depth and breadth of analysis. In the most recent cycle, the evaluation focused on post-COVID impacts and new challenges in behavioral health service delivery. Aptive continues to refine data strategies and strengthen VA’s ability to use findings for policy and operational improvements.
Aptive remains a trusted partner in supporting VA’s suicide prevention mission through accurate reporting, advanced data analysis and continuous improvement of Veteran mental health care.
