The use of imperfect data in managed care organizations

Two critical milestones appear to be occurring in the development of medical groups moving to improve medical care effectiveness. These include the abilities 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. The translation of imperfect information to effective clinical practice anyway remains a success fundamental to managing highly competitive medical groups and health plans. It is centrally dependent on the understanding, use, and application of "imperfect data".