Healing healthcare: Future-proofing your master data
10 Feb 2020
Blog
Written by Gary Connors, Partner at Oliver Wight EAME
Why does the healthcare industry struggle with data accuracy? Steve Rowntree and I, both Oliver Wight Partners, have a particular interest in this topic having spent a significant portion of our careers 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.
Steve and I will be talking about this in a free webinar on 24th March and we invite you to join us for this event. Improving your data accuracy may not be sexy but if you don’t do it, you will regret it! Register to find out what you should be doing now to prepare for the future.
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