by Angela Guess
Greg Gillespie recently wrote in Information Management, “The need for a strong data governance structure has been talked to death in healthcare, but even for all the ink the topic has received, most healthcare organizations lack a sound plan, which could come back to haunt them as they embark on analytics and other complex data initiatives. Without a firm foundation for assuring the overall management of the availability, usability, integrity and security of data in healthcare organizations, quality issues could limit the effectiveness of initiatives that rely on the trustworthiness of the underlying data. John Moore, founder and managing partner at Boston-based analyst firm Chilmark Research, said the firm’s research finds that most healthcare organizations have ‘fairly rudimentary’ governance structures. Only 15 percent to 20 percent have full-fledged data governance frameworks in place, he adds.”
Gillespie goes on, “The shift to shared saving and risk-based reimbursement has revealed the cracks in data governance and information management infrastructures at many organizations that are having significant problems getting the data pieces in place to keep their heads above water. Michael Hunt, M.D., chief population health officer at St. Vincent’s Health Partners, a 275-physician medical group in Bridgeport, Conn., cites research that shows 70 percent of accountable care organizations don’t make money.”
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