Across all medical institutions, healthcare providers work with large amounts of data on a day-to-day basis that include patient history records, medical research, clinical and financial information. Maintaining this data becomes extremely crucial as it plays a major role in better clinical decision-making and managing healthcare related costs.
However, with the significant amount of data being generated by these organisations, the challenge lies in trying to meticulously manage this information to ensure optimal data security and accuracy.
Data governance in healthcare must be built to address technical and organisational challenges and should be designed to include a well-defined range of policies and procedures to effectively collect, store, analyse and process the data. It facilitates the sharing and exchange of healthcare data between different systems, organisations, and healthcare professionals. It establishes guidelines for data formatting, standard terminologies, and data integration protocols, enabling seamless interoperability. Effective data governance promotes efficient care coordination, reduces medical errors, and supports the continuity of patient care across different healthcare settings.
Additionally, besides effective data management and analytics, a solid data governance framework helps ensure that relevant and accurate data is available to support decision-making processes, performance monitoring and various quality improvement initiatives. Reliable data assists healthcare organisations in identifying trends, seamlessly measuring outcomes and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and devise solutions accordingly.
