Knowing the status of a patient at any time can be important for medical professionals. According to Becker's ASC Review, there are critical steps for hospital leaders to take as data volumes rise. Those include cleansing the information to make sure poor recording does not lead to complications.
The source noted that
data quality is extremely important to limiting readmissions to hospitals. Nearly every facet of a medical transaction, from patient information and vital signs to the monetary aspects of the procedure, should be checked carefully to make sure the contents of the data warehouse are of high quality.
Becker's reported that considerations include the formatting of information to make sure the facts use the correct units. Leaders can also apply
deduplication software to ensure a record does not enter the system twice.
Correcting formatting can have important implications, no matter the field. According to CIO contributor Andy Hayler, there have been examples of such problems becoming pronounced. He stated that a spacecraft meant to go to Mars never completed its mission because of a formatting problem. Calculations used in the mission's design did not distinguish between metric and British Imperial measurements, meaning the craft missed its target.