Are healthcare institutions in New Zealand encountering challenges in maximising the utility of data?
The volume of data generated by the healthcare sector every moment is vast to the point of being nearly inconceivable. Despite the rapid increase in health-related data, an astonishing portion remains underutilised, offering a distinct opportunity to enhance the performance of health systems. The essence of this enhancement lies in the establishment of enduring connections, the conversion of substantial quantities of unstructured data into clinically pertinent insights, and the improvement of data flow to support optimal care and interventions beyond the confines of clinical settings. Data and digital solutions, driven by value, have the capacity to function as a catalyst for healthcare systems that are more sustainable, resilient, and efficacious.
The uninterrupted exchange of healthcare information is imperative for the improvement of patient care, the reduction of costs, and the support of research and public health endeavours. Health data standards comprise regulations and laws that delineate the manner in which medical data should be collected, managed, and shared. These standards ensure the uniform formatting of data, irrespective of the systems or applications in use, thereby facilitating its exchange and interpretation. They are vital for various facets of contemporary healthcare, including electronic health records, and research.
A significant advantage of health data standards is interoperability, allowing health systems, providers, and researchers to exchange data seamlessly, regardless of the technology employed. Despite the numerous benefits, the implementation of health data standards faces challenges, including fragmentation wherein we find the prevalence of legacy systems within many healthcare organisations. Additionally, the protection of confidentiality and security of standardised health data remains a perennial concerns.
To facilitate this, organisations should appoint a data standards officer or advocate to explore, endorse, and oversee the application of standards and minimise unnecessary data variation across the health system, embed data standards within data governance and establish policies for new data collection based on the principle of utilising and advocating for data standards, engage in national standards initiatives, and develop infrastructure to adopt emerging standards, including educational efforts, coordination, and communication with other stakeholders.
Achieving consensus and coordination will be essential to ensure that standards evolve to meet the needs of learning health systems. Standards are not static; they are dynamic, requiring ongoing input from user communities to define and refine their application in various contexts. New standards will continually be necessary, particularly in areas of innovation such as new devices, and patient-generated and patient-reported data.