“When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, the Department of Veterans Affairs needed to mobilize quickly to manage the emergency situation. Master data management proved valuable for determining what key medical equipment was available within the agency to treat the surge of patients.”
“’At the very beginning, we had to quickly integrate data across the enterprise for timely decisions. We needed to understand: How many ventilators did we have? How many beds did we have? How many healthcare workers did we have in each facility?’ says Denise Kitts, chief data technology officer in the VA’s Office of Information and Technology.”
“’Master data management pulls in all that data from different sources so we can have it in near real time, with an interactive dashboard for leadership to make decisions on a day-to-day basis,’ she says.”
“Agencies typically use MDM to keep multiple copies of data in alignment. Now they’re tapping it for an emerging use case: In addition to the VA, the Food and Drug Administration and the Air Force are among those leveraging MDM to help manage the supply chain.”
“Tools such as IBM InfoSphere and Informatica’s Multidomain MDM can help establish a “master” version of data across disparate data stores, eliminating duplication and ensuring accuracy.”
“At a time when supply chain disruptions are affecting consumer behaviors and government operations, some see potential in MDM’s ability to drive deeper insights. ‘Even a physical supply chain has a data back end,’ says IEEE member Yale Fox.”
“MDM can offer a streamlined way to synchronize product and location data across the supply chain…” Read the full article here.
Source: Master Data Management Guides Agencies Through Supply Chain Difficulties – By Adam Stone, March 8, 2022. FedTech Magazine.
