Health care data comes in many different forms and may be managed by individuals from many different departments. The concept of data stewardship is governed by the philosophy that the collection, viewing, storage, exchange, aggregation, and analysis of data is done within a system of accountability. This system is usually part of a larger quality management program.

For this discussion, you will assume the role of a data steward for a large health care facility with multiple departments. In your initial post,

• Define and describe health data stewardship.
• Identify who should practice data stewardship in an acute hospital or a large provider practice and why.
• Describe specific practices suggested for data stewardship. Include a minimum of three best practices, explained in detail.
• Explain the importance of health data stewardship.
• Describe what you will do as the health data steward to ensure that personal health information (PHI) is put to appropriate uses and misuses are prevented.
• Reflect on how data stewardship has changed as the health care industry progresses to the electronic health record.