5 Data Management Best Practices

There has been quite a bit of talk about patient data recently, focusing on everything from how it can be used to improve health outcomes overall to how best to keep it safe. The first step in all of these data related tasks is good data management.

What is data management and why is it important?

Data management refers to the collection, use, and maintenance of data in an efficient, secure, and cost-effective manner. Data management is an integral part of an organization’s IT systems, as well as their operations as a whole.

The importance of data management comes down to several factors. First, well managed data is easier to analyze, making it more useful for obtaining insights. This is important in the healthcare industry when focusing on things such as population health. Second, properly managed data is more reliable and less prone to errors that can cause misinformation. In the healthcare industry, this could be the difference between life and death as you must have accurate patient information when making treatment decisions. Finally, data management is integral to data security, helping to protect against breaches, thefts, and losses. With all the sensitive patient information healthcare organizations have in their possession, data security is vital to ensuring patient safety.

5 Data Management Best Practices

Keeping in mind the importance of solid data management for a healthcare organization, here are five best practices to help you see success.

1. Create a data management plan. This is a guide that dictates how your organization will effectively collect, store, and manage data. Once you’ve created your data management plan, be sure to conduct regular checks to confirm you’re staying on plan.
2. Develop policies regarding data governance. Make sure you have policies in place related to quality, security, privacy, and integrity of data. Once these policies are developed, distribute them to your entire staff to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
3. Utilize an EHR. EHRs provide many benefits, such as better accuracy of data, better accessibility of data and, as a result of the first two, better patient care. Be sure that you’re using an EHR that is well suited to your office’s workflow to optimize staff buy-in.
4. Keep staff up to date on data management best practices. All staff, both clinical and administrative, must understand the importance of data management and their role in it. Many organizations find that regular training on data management is essential to keeping this important topic top-of-mind.
5. Utilize data analytics tools. Research and implement tools that can use your data to help streamline patient care, as well as provide valuable financial and operational insights.

With the sheer amount of data we have in our possession in the healthcare industry, managing that data responsibly is of the utmost importance. At Henry Schein MicroMD, we understand how important data management is to a practice’s operations, and that’s why we strive to create streamlined software that helps to make data management efficient. We also offer valuable data analytics solutions to help your practice analyze your operations and financial success, such as dashboardMD and RevOps. DashboardMD integrates with MicroMD PM to extract and analyze practice data, giving you a clear picture of your practice’s performance. RevOps is an AI-powered revenue cycle data tool that analyzes your claims data to ensure that you are getting paid what you deserve.

For more information or to get started, visit micromd.com or call 1-800-624-8832.