Healing Healthcare – Future-proofing your master data
At Oliver Wight we have a recurring scenario that plays out with many of our healthcare clients. It starts with their unshakeable belief that their data is accurate; ‘it must be, right? We are in a highly regulated industry after all’. The next act is an academic exercise to measure the data, quickly followed by utter horror when the level of inaccuracy is revealed. After a period of inactivity comes denial; the explanations as to why ‘the data can never be as accurate as other industries.’ Then acceptance sets in and action to improve begins.
Why does the healthcare industry struggle with data accuracy? I have a particular interest in this topic having spent a significant portion of my career in the industry wrestling with the issue and the consequences of inaccurate master data and poor data performance management programs. While this topic is not sexy and does not attract the attention of senior leadership in the industry or the emerging talent that is coming through, it is critical that the issues are aired and addressed in order to enable the strategic ambitions of the industry to be realised.
At Oliver Wight we have a recurring scenario that plays out with many of our healthcare clients. It starts with their unshakeable belief that their data is accurate; ‘it must be, right? We are in a highly regulated industry after all’. The next act is an academic exercise to measure the data, quickly followed by utter horror when the level of inaccuracy is revealed. After a period of inactivity comes denial; the explanations as to why ‘the data can never be as accurate as other industries.’ Then acceptance sets in and action to improve begins.
Complacency and misplaced belief are restricting progress in the industry. In the future, Artificial Intelligence will take over control of your Master Data, recommending real time changes and proactively purging your systems of the problems. How will you react in a world where you are no longer in complete control? Organisations that do not future-proof their master data will struggle to get traction and enjoy the benefits in this new world. We have seen these issues persist over too many years, and now is the time to lift the lid on the topic to raise the level of debate about data accuracy (or inaccuracy) and overcome the inertia that prevails in the industry.
Defining the problem
Being such a highly-regulated industry provides confidence to the consumer that the product they are using will do what it is supposed to do. Risks have been reduced and the therapeutic benefits have been validated through years of development and trials; subjects we explored in our first Healing Healthcare white paper.
Companies are able to show that every batch made and every material consumed was done so within the strict parameters filed with the regulatory authorities. Any deviation outside these limits has been thoroughly investigated, the cause understood, the preventative action in place.
No wonder then, there is a common misconception that this level of regulatory oversight translates intrinsically into accurate data. Unfortunately, it does not. To explain this, we need to explore the different types of data and for the purpose of this paper, we will consider data from three different perspectives; regulatory data, financial data and planning data.
Gary has over 25 years of experience working in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, holding various senior positions, including Managing Director, before becoming a Partner at Oliver Wight.
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