The Importance of Clinical Data Management in Canada

The healthcare industry continues to be one of the fastest-growing and most challenging sectors in which to work. With new legislation, coding standards, and privacy regulations constantly changing, it’s not uncommon for clinical data management (CDM) programs to struggle with keeping up. In Canada especially, where the sheer amount of data generated by healthcare providers is rapidly increasing, clinical data management programs are struggling to keep up. In this article we will explore why CDM is so important in the Canadian healthcare system and why so many organizations are struggling with it. We’ll look at some of the challenges that CDM professionals face in Canada specifically, as well as some ideas on how they can be solved.

What is Clinical Data Management?

Clinical data management (CDM) is the process of collecting, organizing, and managing data that is used to make decisions in healthcare. As a data-driven industry, healthcare organizations have access to a massive amount of data—from patient data to financial data to regulatory data. All of this data plays an important role in the health and well-being of patients and the organization as a whole. The clinical data management team’s job is to make sense of all of this data, organize it, and manage it in a way that it can be easily accessed and used by different departments throughout the organization.

Why is Clinical Data Management so important in Canada?

There are hundreds of thousands of healthcare providers in Canada, each with their own data management program. Collectively, these programs generate millions of data points every day. Data has become increasingly important in healthcare as we begin to see a shift from a fee-for-service model to a value-based model. To be able to truly measure the value of healthcare services and make informed business decisions, organizations need access to reliable data. Additionally, with healthcare laws, regulations, and standards constantly changing, organizations need their CDM programs to be flexible and nimble. With the right CDM solution in place, organizations can easily adapt to new mandates, regulations, and standards without having to worry about data integrity or program scalability.

Challenges with Canadian Clinical Data Management Programs

Despite the growing need for CDM programs in Canada, many organizations are still struggling to keep up with all of the data they’re generating, let alone have time to implement a CDM program. Although every organization has its own unique set of challenges, there are a few that are particularly common among Canadian organizations. Lack of Clinical Data Management Expertise – Many organizations don’t have clinical data experts on staff, which makes it difficult to implement new programs. This is especially challenging in regulated industries like healthcare and financial services, where the data being collected is highly sensitive and regulated. Slow Data Flow and Fragmentation – Compared to other industries, the healthcare system is slow. Getting information from one department to another can sometimes take weeks, or even months. This can be due to slow data flow, as well as data fragmentation (each department storing data in different places). Data Management Silos – Each department within an organization is responsible for collecting their own data, but doesn’t have time to think about how their data is being used by other departments. Data silos make it difficult to share data and make informed business decisions.

Strategies to help overcome these challenges

The first step to overcoming these challenges is to understand the specific needs of your organization and start a CDM program that aligns with those needs. Get to know your organization – The first step in getting a CDM program started is to get to know your organization. What needs does it have? What are its current pain points? Are there specific data management challenges that your organization is currently facing? By taking the time to understand your organization and its needs, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions about your CDM program. Hire a data management consultant – Even if you understand your organization’s specific needs, hiring a data management consultant can be helpful. Having an outside expert with industry knowledge can help identify and prioritize the needs of your organization, as well as make recommendations for the best CDM solution for your specific situation. Assess your data management situation – Before you can implement a new CDM solution, you need to understand where you’re currently at. Conducting an organization-wide data health assessment can help you identify areas that need to be improved and get a better understanding of where your data is currently being stored. Identify your data management needs – Once you’ve assessed your current situation, it’s time to identify your organization’s needs. What data do you need to collect? How do you need to store and organize that data? What tools will be needed to make sure your data is secure? These are all questions you’ll need to answer as you begin to build your CDM program.

Conclusion

Canada is a large and diverse country with many unique healthcare regulations and challenges. With this in mind, organizations in Canada are continuing to struggle with the clinical data management challenge. Fortunately, there are a few things organizations can do to make their CDM programs easier to manage. Get to know your organization, understand the current state of your data, and identify your organization’s data management needs. From there, you can start to build a CDM program that will make it easier to manage your data and make better business decisions.