Sarah Ahmad is the CEO of DataSpring.
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Thirty years ago, I started my career taking customer service calls at a large for-profit health insurance company. Every day, I spoke with patients, clinicians and office managers who were frustrated by simple, preventable mistakes. A doctor’s office address was wrong, a phone number was disconnected, and care was delayed because administrative details were inaccurate or missing.
Back then, it was easy to view bad information as a minor daily headache. Today, after spending my career across health plans, hospital systems and retail, I see the broader truth: Inaccurate information isn’t just a back-office annoyance. It is breaking trust across our entire healthcare system.
The Three Questions Every Leader Should Ask
For far too long, healthcare leaders have treated data as a technology problem rather than a core strategic priority. We attempt to solve for “data quality” to reduce risk and cost, but we rarely speak of the effect it has on patients or clinicians. When consumer-facing provider directories contain errors, care is impacted and trust in the U.S. healthcare system degrades.
To understand why this matters at the leadership level, executives and board members should consider three fundamental questions:
1. Can consumers trust the information they rely on to find the right clinician, understand their coverage options and access care with confidence?
2. Can providers trust the processes and platforms that connect them to patients, referral sources and health plans?
3. Can health plans trust the accuracy of the data powering their provider networks and member experiences?
I’ve learned that when the answer to any of these questions is “no,” the negative effects ripple across the entire healthcare ecosystem.
On the other hand, when provider data is governed appropriately and shared consistently across plans, health systems and members, it can transform from a compliance burden into an engine for access, growth, operational efficiency and, ultimately, industry trust. Data quality provides the raw materials, and data integrity helps guarantee the outcome.
Fixing Bad Data By Establishing Integrity At The Source
For years, healthcare tried to fix bad data after the damage was done, spending millions on manual corrections downstream after a claim was rejected or a patient complained. That approach is like trying to filter dirty water at the faucet instead of keeping the spring clean. Based on my experiences, one of the best, most lasting solutions is to establish data integrity right at the source and verify information before it ever enters the system.
Real progress on data integrity requires data accountability. When I became CEO of our parent company in 2023, I made provider data integrity a strategic priority and challenged the organization to rethink our approach to improving it. Our solution was to move away from passive data collection and toward real-time verification and source accuracy. Instead of asking clinicians to reenter or confirm their information over and over, health plans and health systems can now rely on one universal clinician data record that updates continuously. We learned that catching errors at our front door for our providers, as well as connecting eligibility data for the multitude of insured lives we work with nationwide, could ensure clean information flowed into every downstream system for both clinicians and health plans.
However, capturing accurate data points is only the first step. I’ve also found that true data integrity means your high-quality data is continuously monitored and maintained across systems, governed appropriately, shared consistently, preserved through change and trusted by all stakeholders.
The C-Suite Takeaway
No amount of advanced technology can fix bad underlying information. If you feed inaccurate data into your tools, you won’t solve your operational problems; you will automate your mistakes faster and lose the trust of your customers and partners.
If we want to see real progress on data integrity, I believe we need to make a collective effort to create a foundation of trust. It’s been inspiring to see the recent advances made by health plans, health systems, clinicians and regulators who are working together to solve the provider data integrity problem—by putting the patient experience first.
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