Mastering Data Management

Determining the economic value of data sharing can help justify your initiative

Around the world, data sharing has grown tremendously in the past decade, both in execution and planning. This phenomenon has been driven by the mounting need to coordinate care for chronic conditions prevalent in the aging population. Funding earmarked for electronic health record (EHR) adoption and data sharing has also fueled this trend.

Common challenges in executing data sharing are lack of funding, patient and provider identification, and privacy protection.  But before delving into overcoming the challenges, we must first understand the economic value of data sharing. Doing so helps build the case that can attract funding.

The power of the electronic record is realized when the data is standardized, structured and designed for sharing. Data sharing promotes transformational changes in healthcare delivery. The emergence of global health crises including SARS and H1N1 further illustrates the growing and immediate need for data sharing.

At the same time, the economic value of data sharing is clear: tests need not be duplicated simply because one lacks access to previous results.

Studies from the Markle Foundation and others in the US estimate that 15% of all tests are duplicated when previous test results are inaccessible. Physician practices estimate that 20-40% of the time associated with a patient visit is wasted searching for information.

This is especially problematic when patients are sent from primary care to a specialist, as the specialty assessment, consultation or treatment record does not routinely get routed to the primary care physician.

While this problem is greatest in the US due to its fractured and complex healthcare model, it exists to some degree in most countries.

In the US, the unpredictable funding of healthcare and inherent conflicts in payment and care delivery models creates chaotic policy and endless debate. In fact, duplicate testing is economically rewarded in some payment models!

Furthermore, a payment and delivery model that rewards specialists as opposed to primary and preventative care leads to uncoordinated care that is costly, duplicative and counterproductive to individual or population health.  The complex situation cries for data sharing as a first step in improving health.

Though economic turmoil has slowed private funding of EHRs, the business, economic and population health drivers march on. We must accelerate the advancement of data sharing to truly address chronic conditions and potential public health crises that require data sharing for effective and cost efficient care.

Implementing electronic records when data remains isolated in silos is not the solution to the problems facing global health.