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Provider data lives in many places within a health system. There is information in spreadsheets, credentialing systems, EHRs, and many other locations. The maintenance of this information becomes cumbersome and very time-consuming, especially with frequent updates and many users. 

As organizations look to drive digital transformation and take full advantage of new tools, centralized provider data management is critical. This solution resolves many of the data-oriented challenges health systems face today. Investing in a provider data management strategy offers organizations the ability to power enterprise-wide initiatives for patients, providers, and staff leveraging consistent data across access points—online provider directories, mobile apps, call centers, and more.

What is Provider Data Management?

At many health systems and hospitals provider data is siloed. It often lives in multiple places across individual hospital departments, spreadsheets, and disparate databases. There are usually different stakeholders responsible for provider data accuracy—making it difficult to keep information up to date. When this happens, it often results in a poor consumer experience on an organization’s website. The information patients encounter such as location, or phone number might be wrong, leading to inaccurate provider directories and poor patient-provider matching

Provider Data Management is the consolidation of all disparate data into a single source of truth. Once the source of truth is created, business rules can be put into place around the governance and upkeep of the provider data so that it can be properly maintained over time. Organizations may consider establishing role-based authorizations to enable administrators to control what information users can see and edit. It’s even possible to set up approval workflows to ensure proper checks and balances occur.

Why Organizations Should Invest in Provider Data Management

An investment in a solid provider data management strategy is foundational. Not only does it power the consumer experience on an organization’s website and mobile app, but it can also be leveraged internally for various different use cases. Consider these 5 foundational reasons to invest in provider data management as you make a business case at your organization.

1. Reliable Provider Data is Needed to Power Multi-Channel Patient Access Initiatives

In order to guide patients to the right care, the information that is presented to consumers about your providers, locations, and services must be accurate and consistent across multiple access points. Without a provider data management system in place, information is often out-dated and inaccurate. 

When a patient looks up a provider online and sees that they practice at a particular location, but then calls to make an appointment and learns that they are no longer at that location, it results in a frustrating patient experience. Consumers should have access to the same, accurate provider data regardless of where they are searching for care. Access should be consistent whether it’s on your website, via general internet searches, or a phone call into your organization. Providing this consistent experience to consumers across access points can go a long way in building trust.

2. Facilitating Optimal Patient-Provider Matching Accelerates Demand Conversion

Organizations must ensure that the provider directories that house profiles are not only accurate, but complete with information that matters most to consumers when making a selection for their care. Attributes like insurance accepted (94%), clinical expertise (89%), and appointment availability (89%) all help convert patients looking to schedule appointments.

Many patients also like to have access to additional provider data. Some additions could be their professional statement, a video, whether they are LGBTQIA+ friendly, and more. This information can be extremely important as they are considering whether or not it will be a good patient-provider match. Given the option, many patients tend to choose providers based on shared traits.

When a provider data management strategy is in place, this information can all be managed in a single location. Provider data that may not have had a true “home” before such as marketing information like a biography, picture, or video, can all be maintained in a more streamlined manner.  

Another key component of optimal patient-provider matching is ensuring that patients can easily search for a provider based on the specialty they need or symptoms they are experiencing. In many cases this includes lay synonyms such as “the sugars” for diabetes or “tennis elbow” for epicondylitis. Being able to layer on a robust clinical taxonomy that includes all of these different terms is a vital component of a well-rounded provider data management strategy.

3. Managing Provider Networks Effectively Optimizes Capacity Utilization

Given the current state of supply and demand issues in healthcare, it is more important than ever to have a clear view of your entire provider network. Consider leveraging a provider data management solution to help uncover and address gaps in provider types and services. Doing so can help you make strategic decisions about clinical recruiting to strengthen the integrity of your network.

When organizations have a more granular view into their network, they are able to adjust their access models to optimize capacity and improve appointment wait times. This might look something like, routing back to school physicals or flu shots to an APP such as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant instead of a primary care physician. This type of routing enables better management of capacity at an individual provider level, helping to ensure clinicians are not underutilized, overutilized, and/or misutilized.

4. Centralizing Provider Data Enables Seamless Care Transitions that Boost Patient Retention

Oftentimes when patients receive a referral from their physician or office staff, the information they are given is out of date, and the provider to whom they are referred may not be practicing any longer or may have left the organization. Provider data management can help solve this problem, as it can give all staff members accurate, reliable information at their fingertips. 

This can be especially important for referring providers, who may go to an organization’s website to view physician profiles before determining an appropriate referral. It is vital that the information included on these profiles is accurate, so that providers can make the best choice for their patients. 

Leveraging your provider data management system can help ensure a well-rounded view of an organization’s provider base. Having this accurate view will help empower clinical and administrative staff to guide patients during care transitions. Not only will they be able to connect patients to the most appropriate care, but they can do so in-network.

5. Driving Operational Efficiencies and Growth by Maximizing Provider Data Utility Across the Organization

At a time when resources are stretched thin, put your provider data management solution to work for you across the enterprise. This source of truth can be used throughout the organization in a myriad of ways, extending the utility of your provider data to internal assets such as call center operations,  learning management systems, intranet pages, and more. 

Maximizing provider data utility can help alleviate staffing challenges by eliminating the need for constant manual updates in multiple places, freeing staff up to focus on higher value tasks instead.

Having a centralized provider data management strategy is also extremely beneficial for organizations that may be in growth mode, whether it be organically or through M&A. Having a centralized, streamlined way to onboard the data for new physicians allows organizations to get them live on their website with accurate information much sooner then they would be able to otherwise.

Accurate Provider Data to Power the Future

As organizations look to embark on digital transformation, they will find that first investing in a solid provider data management strategy will help them be successful in the long run. Set your organization, and your patients, up for success with a digital experience that is powered by accurate, up-to-date information.

Interested in learning more? Download our guide 5 Reasons to Prioritize PDM.