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Our world wants things faster, better, and of higher quality than ever before. We all feel this pressure daily. Public health feels it more than most, especially when it comes to reporting health and death data. This is especially true when we’re experiencing a public health crisis, like the current COVID-19 one. Officials from national to county levels know they need to provide data ASAP to help combat a crisis. The problem is there are a lot of people involved in data reporting and qualification, meaning there are lot of bottlenecks. While it is easy to give public health officials bad press, this is not addressing the real issues. Below are three of the top barriers public health faces in providing fast, accurate data. We’ve included suggestions on how to overcome the barriers to build a safer country:
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Lack of knowledge
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There are many gaps in knowledge because of there are many players in the public health and data reporting field. Gaps can be knowing how to report data, what hardships other stakeholders are facing, and more. For example, physicians are a large group in charge of reporting causes of death, but this is not taught in medical school. This creates a huge gap – QuantumMark helps our clients overcome this with training. The cause of gaps can usually be routed back to lack of knowledge. This is not a new issue. Marion Boisseau-Sierra writes “Watching scientists, politicians and journalists struggle to compare national death rates from the coronavirus pandemic, I had an acute case of déjà vu. Though the virus may be novel, the confusion generated by inconsistent data standards is anything but.” How do we overcome this? By investing in training. The training we’ve helped clients with, specifically around the opioid crisis, allowed for faster and higher quality data to be submitted. It also allowed for the knowledge and communication gaps to be filled. This is critically important when it comes to data standards – we can’t compare data, if it is not reported at the same standard.
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Lack of interoperability
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Interoperability in the public health world is slowly occurring, but not to the degree needed. It is not just technology either. Everything from processes to communication to cross-state and national standards is very siloed. This makes it incredibly difficult to ensure faster, higher quality data. To truly improve public health reporting, we need to broaden our concept of what interoperability really means. Are there other stakeholders involved in a process that should be accounted for? What processes can we tie into those of other departments? At the end of the day, interoperability is looking at how to efficiently work together, to be better at tackling and responding to issues and health needs. To begin doing this, look at what systems and departments you work with most closely. A current environment assessment and interoperability plan go a long way.
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Outdated systems
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Outdated systems play a huge role in the lack of interoperability in public health, as well as the data inconsistencies and delays. It is no wonder that, as poconorecord.com points out, “State health officials have grappled with data accuracy and reporting problems…” Outdated systems are not able to provide the same level of mobile and remote reporting options that are needed. This makes it harder to get real-time data when people cannot actually report items in real time. Another big issue is the fact that they are not as adept at catching inaccurate or incomplete data. For instance, the clients QuantumMark have helped to update their systems were able to catch ill-defined opioid deaths and immediately flag the issue before the cause of death was actually reported. This saved time and helped get accurate data faster. As we look at wanting faster, better health data, it is necessary to look at updating the systems states are utilizing. This ensures that, as new standards are implemented, states are set up for success, vs. being on an older system that will not allow them to comply with new standards and rules.
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Overall, public health data is an area that needs improvement. It also needs more understanding. Most people do not know the processes and people that go into data reporting. It is important to look at modernizing the processes and creating better standards and support systems to help states and our country meet their goals.
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Interested in learning more about data quality barriers? Contact our team at Kim@QuantumMark.com today!
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