Healthcare data holds information that has the potential to change the way drugs are developed, approved, and launched into the marketplace. But the only way life sciences companies can maximize its value is if they have the technology and domain expertise to rapidly capture, clean, format, and analyze fit-for-purpose data to find business-driving insights.

That requires a robust, fully connected enterprise information management (EIM) strategy designed specifically for life sciences.

Enterprise data management solutions are not a new idea. Companies like SAP and Oracle have made enterprise resource management systems the mainstay of how businesses manage customer and financial data. Their end-to-end solutions link information captured from across an organization to enable company-wide transparency, easy data access, and more robust analytics – all of which drives better business results.

The same is now possible for Enterprise Information Management (EIM) in the life sciences industry. IQVIA’s EIM suite of technology and services address every step in the data-to-insights process from acquisition through analysis supported by a skilled workforce that has years of global deployment experience.

Modular by design

IQVIA’s EIM offerings are purpose built for the life sciences industry’s data and information management needs, and are modular by design. Each offering is flexible and interoperable and can function as a stand-alone implementation or as part of a multi-faceted solution providing value-added capabilities, and a streamlined information management workflow.

When companies adopt a modular approach to EIM they have access to any or all of the capabilities to source, clean, integrate, and analyze healthcare data regardless of where it comes from or what format it arrives in. But it takes planning to ensure every element of the data environment is selected and managed to maximize results.

That begins with having the right data strategy to meet the organization’s unique data needs.

The 5 elements of data strategy

Many life sciences companies take a piecemeal approach to acquiring, combining and analyzing data that lacks a coherent strategy. This can lead to errors, inconsistency, and an inefficient use of funds.

Large pharma firms may spend $100 million per year acquiring global healthcare data. But these acquisitions are often duplicative and made by siloed departments that lack visibility into resources available to other teams. Limited insight into existing organizational data prevents opportunities for enriching it for more robust insights. This can cause missed opportunities to generate value from these investments.

Instead, IQVIA encourages life sciences firms to begin their EIM journey with an enterprise data strategy. This early due diligence step establishes the foundation for all future data acquisitions, and sets governance practices for how these assets will be selected, managed, shared, analyzed, and acted upon.

An effective data strategy should include a view of the following:

• The data landscape. To make the most of healthcare data investments, companies need a clear view into all of their data assets, along with where it’s stored, how it can be accessed and analyzed, including any artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) capabilities, dashboards, forecasting solutions, or other applications that can be used to transform the raw data into meaningful insights. Understanding what you have, where it’s located, and how it can be used is critical to generating true value from a complex, ever-changing data environment.
• Data governance framework. Every data strategy should include a robust governance framework that defines decision rights, accountability, and consistency in the management of data. This will provide all stakeholders with a clear view of the rules governing data acquisition and management, and the impact any changes they make will have on business processes. It also ensures all data is fit for purpose on a repeatable basis for high-quality analytics.
• Data quality management. To ensure the company can rely on its analytics, the data governance strategy should include processes for assessing data quality and procedures to improve and maintain ongoing quality across all datasets. Data quality management prevents reliance on data assets that are incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date, which can drive more efficient go-to-market efforts, and faster more comprehensive decision-making. It also gives all users across the company confidence that the data is reliable.
• Data acquisition methods. Establishing rules for data acquisition will streamline how, when and from where data is acquired while eliminating the risk of duplicate purchases, and the acquisition of data sets that are no longer needed. These methods may include purchasing approval processes, expectations for timely updates, and/or preferred vendors as a way to expedite processing and ensure quality standards.
• Data privacy advisory. Pharma companies must adhere to complex regulations around data privacy that vary across countries. To be compliant, they need rigorous rules in their data strategy that establishes guidelines for retaining patient anonymity while still maintaining the value of the asset. IQVIA’s privacy experts often advise our clients on how to establish robust data privacy strategies to achieve compliance with national and regional regulations.

Once life sciences companies build a data strategy, they can use it as a lens through which to make all future data decisions. It builds structure and rigor into the data environment, and makes it easier for all stakeholders to maximize value from these vital assets.

Read more on how you can create a leading edge EIM system by visiting our Information Management resources page.

IQVIA provides the gold standard for pharmaceutical market data as well as clinical research. IQVIA employs thousands of data scientists, healthcare professionals, technology experts, and data strategy professionals who oversee processing of more 100 billion healthcare records annually. To learn more about IQVIA’s data services, contact us here.