Local health authority gains a roadmap to data governance excellence

For public health organizations, trusted data is essential to delivering connected, accountable and timely care. But when patient, provider, claims and enrollment data sit across different systems and processes, governance can quickly become difficult to operationalize.

This local health authority set out to strengthen how data is managed, protected and used across the organization. With complex patient and provider domains at the center of its service delivery model, the agency needed more than a theoretical governance framework, it needed a practical strategy that could align teams, clarify ownership and support better decisions.

Amplifi worked with the agency to assess its governance needs, prioritize the data domains that mattered most and build a roadmap grounded in real-world execution. The result was a clear, actionable plan for improving data governance maturity, strengthening stewardship and elevating the role of master data in patient and provider collaboration.

As a busy public health agency, this institution is driven to uphold the values of accountability, connection, and innovative care. Core to this mission is well-governed data, a cornerstone of patient privacy and meeting service level agreements.

To help support their goals, they needed a plan to overcome disparate processes and systems. A more unified data approach would help them bolster security for personal and private health information (PHI), as well as better match patients with the right specialists and providers.

Recognizing the scale of the project, the health agency formed a data governance initiative. While the team was academically knowledgeable about data governance, they lacked practical experience in applying these principles to their unique situation.

They reached out to Amplifi to help them develop a customized data governance strategy. While their concerns spanned various data domains, including clinical, transactional claims, and customer enrollment data, patient data and provider data quickly surfaced as priorities.

The collaboration with Amplifi illuminated the crucial link between data modeling and effective governance. Core questions emerged, like: What are the essential attributes for patients and providers, and how are these attributes interconnected? What types of roles, rules, and processes would work best for healthcare, as well as within a public sector organization?

Following the discovery phase, Amplifi equipped the agency with a comprehensive data governance roadmap with recommendations, including:

• Operational guidelines for effective data governance policy and steering.
• A suggested operational structure, including the necessary teams, roles, and decision-making frameworks.
• Best practices for utilizing existing personnel as members of the data governance council.
• Enhancing data literacy throughout the organization.
• Establishing clear data ownership guidelines and appointing dedicated data stewards.
• Aligning business and data processes to gain efficiency and data accuracy.

Reflecting on the journey, the agency’s senior director for enterprise data governance noted:

“Amplifi helped our team understand the interconnection between data modeling and data governance and its impact on our service delivery and care. With their recommendations, we’ve gained a clear and strategic data governance plan we can put into action, including elevating the role of master data in our patient and provider collaboration.”

Public Health AgencySr. Director, Enterprise Data Governanace

Embracing the recommendations marked a meaningful advancement for the public health agency. Currently, several initiatives are being developed and rolled out, indicating a steady and intentional approach to improving data governance.

The trust developed during the engagement and the quality of the recommendations helped drive the program forward.

Reflecting on the journey, the senior director noted:

“Securing executive backing can be challenging in any enterprise-wide initiative. In our case, the strategic direction and clear recommendations delivered by Amplifi helped us gain that vital senior-level support.”

Public Health AgencySr. Director, Enterprise Data Governance