When an organization is looking to migrate valuable data and services from legacy systems they are often wary of transporting inaccurate, unwanted, and duplicate data into their exciting new solution. Once legacy data is consumed in an operational environment, it can take months or even years to clean up the resulting mess. In fact, studies reveal that cost overruns and new deployment timelines are negatively impacted 80% of the time by the complexities of data migration. In this article, we go beyond the single patient and provider identifier use cases for Master Data Management (MDM) and focus rather on the undeniably critical role MDM plays in Data Migration projects, whilst preventing huge cost and time overruns and avoiding barriers to innovation.

The Patient is paramount, and many biopharmaceuticals are taking back control.

One such example in the Life Sciences industry is the current trend for bringing patient services in-house; whereas previously, outsourcing was an effective means of providing a core service offering, an increasing need to identify candidates for trial effectively and rapidly, focus on patient journeys and outcomes, and the need to consolidate and standardize the patient experience has led many companies to bring patient service systems into their sphere of direct control.

These projects can be daunting and layered with risk. The strategic migration of existing patients and associated data is critical for a seamless transition to an improved customer experience. MDM can become invaluable in these situations by acting as a bridge between the old and the new systems. Data cleansing, de-duplication, and data enrichment ensure that only the best and accurate representation arrives in the target environment.

If the migration plan is staggered, or modified during execution, the Master Data Management component can act as a staging environment. New data sources can be added, and data can be released as needed with confidence. Once the migration, or migrations, are complete MDM will optionally hold both the old and new versions of the data, allowing for reference and research as needed. The MDM solution will provide significant value to your ongoing data management and analytics goals long-term. Meaning, that investment in MDM outlives the migration providing an increased return in value.

Summary

In summary whether your migrating your patient services in-house or need a cost-effective modern solution for patient and provider data, a scalable MDM solution is a foundational enterprise tool.  The growth of data is exponential so taking charge of its integrity and managing it intelligently is critical to your ability to serve your customers and achieve revenue goals. Intelligent MDM is a wise investment and will provide both a short- and long-term strategic advantage.