No further data processing is required for the file VHA_Appts_Processed.jmp for this case. Notice that each element of the hospital’s address is stored as a separate column. Storing the elements in separate columns is a best practice in data management. It is easier to create derived data elements by combining columns rather than parsing a single column that contains the entire address. In the previous case we created such derived data by combining the city and state columns. Different uses of the data (e.g., reports, analyzes) may require hospital address to be expressed in different formats. Having each address element separately also facilities analysis. For example, backlog difference can be easily analyzed by state or VISN.