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AHIMA characteristics of data quality are as follows:
1. Accuracy: The data should be free of errors, is correct.
2. Accessibility: Proper safeguards established to ensure data is available when needed.
3. Comprehensiveness: The data contains all required elements
4. Consistency: The data is reliable and the same across the entire patient encounter.
5. Currency: Data is current and up to date
6. Definition: All data elements are clearly defined.
7. Granularity: The data is at the appropriate level of detail.
8. Precision: The data is precise and collected in their exact form.
9. Relevancy: Data is relevant to the purpose it was collected
10. Timeliness: Documentation is entered promptly, is up-to-date and available within
specified and required time frames (AHIMA 2020)
Many healthcare organizations have given some thought to data governance but perhaps
are unsure where to start or how to achieve a robust data governance program. An obstacle
to implementing organizational healthcare data governance may be a lack of understanding
of data as an asset by key stakeholders which may lead to data silos and delays in the
formation of an organizational wide program.
Healthcare data governance should be organization-wide and include interdisciplinary teams
consisting of subject matter experts. A key purpose of healthcare data governance is to
establish an organizational culture that ensures data is secure, reliable, and available to
those who should have access to it. If the entire organization is engaged, a data governance
culture is formed, leading to the organization's robust program.
A healthcare data governance culture may be achieved by starting data governance in small
steps to demonstrate the value.
The first step in any healthcare data governance plan or program is to define data
governance and scope. Organizations must establish the basic framework of collection,
retention, use, accessibility and sharing of healthcare data. This framework may consist of
policies, procedures, standards, ownership, decision rights, roles and responsibilities and
accountability related to the data. Organizations should create a Data Governance
Management Team (or similarly titled team) with the Chief Data Officer (or similar position