6 Steps To A Successful Data Governance Program

By Michael Valitchka and Alex Chang, Point B Management Consultants

Data governance is not exactly the healthcare industry’s most glamorous topic. Yet it’s a necessary evil, one that has several downstream impacts on organizations.

There are several drivers dictating the need for strong data governance in healthcare today including:

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) requirement for transparency for incentive programs for compliance and audits.
• Meaningful use audits that rely on strong data standards.
• The demand by large corporate clients in the group health plan space for more complex reporting on their employee populations, outcomes, and cost drivers.
• The need for metrics by organizations wanting to gauge how well they’re performing across a much larger spectrum that drives profitability, quality, and customer satisfaction.
• Complexity in electronic records, which is flattening data ownership across large institutions. The risk with these fewer silos is that accountability for data stewardship can slip between the cracks.

A good data governance program drives confidence and value, but in actuality it can provide the backbone to many important enterprise initiatives such as cost reduction, population health management, and customer experience. While many already understand what data governance is, gaining the right level of traction and visibility within an organization can be a challenge.