The Use of Imperfect Data in Managed Care Organizations. (Imperfect Data)‪.‬

AS MEDICAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS continue to evolve, massive amounts of data are rapidly being accumulated. This wealth of information presents mind-numbing possibilities for creating reports and graphs at various levels of complexity. The temptation for an analyst to generate "too many reports" needs to be quelled, to prevent presenting a bewildering array of information to medical professionals. The large volume of data, while impressive, is also frequently characterized by a host of limitations that become the focus for detractors of the change process. Two critical milestones appear to be occurring in the development of medical groups moving to improve medical care effectiveness. These include the ability to work with imperfect and unflattering data. There is a clear linkage between these two concepts, because forward clinical improvement or business planning is often delayed as individual physicians seek to await "perfect data" when confronted with unflattering information, In the form of "profiles" in particular, providers often react negatively, with complaints that the information is "imperfect" or that it fails to capture some nuance of their sicker or unique patient populations.