Data Governance Company-wide initiative will provide standards for collection and storage BY HANNAH BURKE
L
ast year, Florida Cancer Specialists enthusiastically launched its Data Governance Program, an initiative designed to institute policies, processes and standards for how data is collected, organized, stored and used throughout the organization. The FCS Data Governance Committee was established to oversee the program’s implementation and monitor its progress. FCS Chief Executive Officer Nathan H. Walcker serves as executive sponsor of the committee and Vice President of Informatics Trevor Heritage, PhD has taken on the role of committee chair. It was important to FCS that the committee include representatives from the organization’s teams and departments. Data plays a role in every sector of FCS operations, so this initiative impacts everyone. For instance, FCS data may also correlate with how clinical interventions and observations are documented, or the way in which patient information is attained at intake and later stored, analyzed and secured. Data can relate to billing and claims, or even include the acronyms used by FCS to refer to its clinic locations. “Like other organizations of our size, complexity and structure, there are many possible ways in which the cross-system exchange of data and information could be inconsistent,” Heritage said. “So, it is vital that we have a plan in place to strengthen the management of our data and ensure that it is reliable, secure and being properly used. By doing this, we can more efficiently and deliberately use our organization’s data to continue providing world-class cancer care for our patients.”
16
FCS Magazine
