Data governance is on the rise, but still faces barriers

Dimensional Insight, developers of business intelligence solutions, has released a survey on current data governance within hospitals in America. The survey includes responses from CIOs and CMIOs in an overview of current data governance initiatives with an eye toward the future of implementation.

Implementation of data governance practices within hospitals has been slow. This survey analyzed current data governance practices to provide insight into how hospitals can overcome barriers to improve effectiveness.

Findings included:

• 44 percent of respondents had implemented an organization-wide data governance system; the remaining 56 percent had incomplete or non-existent governance practices.
• 49 percent of respondents had a plan to implement data governance within the next year; 29 percent planned on implementing within three years.
• 68 percent stated “improving trust” as the main reason for data governance implementation, followed by improving care quality at 60 percent and improving regulatory compliance at 45 percent.
• 70 percent of respondents stated a lack of resources as the main barrier to data governance adoption, followed by variance in leadership buy-in at 50 percent and discrepancy in defining data measurements at 49 percent.

“As the amount of data continues to grow, and as healthcare organizations recognize the need to make better use of data, having an effective data governance strategy in place is more important than ever,” said Fred Powers, co-founder and CEO of Dimensional Insight. “However, as indicated in our survey, there is still a need to make the governance process easier for everyone involved so that data is consistent, well-documented and trustworthy. The time is now to make that a reality for healthcare.”