Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Remediating Data Issues and Reporting Your Transparency Data

Life sciences professionals engaged in transparency reporting understand the myriad of challenges in compiling necessary data for reporting. Navigating challenges such as incomplete records, discrepancies among data sources, duplicate, or late data submissions can significantly compromise the accuracy of reporting. Compliance and transparency teams often endure heightened stress and sleepless nights over these common issues, especially during the crunch time of heavy reporting periods. As the reporting deadline looms, the stress intensifies.

As we embark on another reporting year, here are the top 10 things MediSpend recommends to reduce that stress, resolve those data issues and get your reports submitted on time.

1. Don’t wait; load and review your data early

Best practice is to review your reports and data quarterly, at a minimum. This frequency ensures more prompt access to information. The longer the interval between the transaction date and the review of issues, the greater the challenge in obtaining timely information.

2. Set a cutoff date with internal and external stakeholders

Data remediation will take time. Tracking down missing information and validation issues will take time. Final preparation and report submission will take time. That’s a lot of time! Make sure you set your cutoff dates early to ensure there is ample time to finish all of your activities.

3. Put together a plan for data review and remediation

Preparation is key. Consider the resources at your disposal to help you through the data challenges. Familiarize yourself with the sources that provide data and their respective cadences, anticipating when to expect the data. Maintain a list of contacts who have helped you in the past. This proactive approach can help alleviate stress and minimize surprises.

4. Capture contextual information and source data even if it’s not required for reporting

Regardless of the reporting tool you use, try to capture source information along with the transactions, even if that information is not critical for reporting. This simple practice can save considerable time and energy in the long run, as having source identifiers or the email address of the original transaction owner proves to be immensely beneficial. In instances of information gaps or post-submission disputes, these details serve as a quick reference to where and/or whom to contact for more details.

5. Tackle the most time-consuming things first

This is especially important for those items associated with late or missing data elements. The sooner you tackle these issues, the better. Set up reminders to proactively contact data sources that are notoriously late in providing data. Identify gaps in the data early on, so you can reach out to those external resources for prompt data submission.

6. Take advantage of pre-validation tools

Certain submission portals offer tools enabling you to load data early for pre-validation. For example, you can pre-submit your HCP data to the CMS Open Payments portal to check for matching and validation errors prior to reporting associated spend. This can be done months in advance, which can mitigate surprises during your busiest periods. Additionally, if you have a transparency reporting tool such as MediSpend’s Transparency Solution, you can perform validation checks to identify issues before reporting. Reviewing issues before submission and attestation can provide a lot of value.

7. Use your historical data and experience

If you have reported in the past, you can use that data and that experience to see where problems might exist. Utilize analytics to compare current-year data to last year’s data. If a particular source is known to have been missing information in the past, then look at that data early. Instead of waiting to encounter issues, work with your sources to try to reduce potential issues before they happen again.

8. Don’t forget to review recipient information

While it’s common to focus on reviewing validations and transactional details, some of the most time-consuming and often most crucial details determining reporting are associated with the recipient themself. Are the credentials of the recipient correct? Have they really been a student for 15 years? Do I have all the identifiers necessary for reporting? In some cases, portals have validations in place to compare your recipient data against the system data. For example, in France, the data needs to align with the Ministère De La Santé database. Some reporting platforms make sure that data is in alignment prior to reporting which can significantly streamline the reporting process.

9. Keep track of what has been reported

Most reporting authorities require updates when changes or new information arise. Maintain a record of previously reported data and track any changes since you last reported. Make sure you have documented policies and processes to review the data so you can resubmit changed data and submit records that may not have been available in your system previously.

10. Consider more than just spend and recipient data

Don’t forget that there are crucial things that aren’t spend or recipient data related. Many reporting authorities require activities such as registration or certification. These items vary for each jurisdiction and can be problematic if left for last minute. For example, in the U.S., CMS requires managing the users involved with submission. There may be new officers or even an account that has been deactivated. Tackle those things early and make a note of what’s needed each year. It can save you a lot of headaches during your busiest time.

 

Ready to revolutionize your transparency reporting process? Discover the excellence of MediSpend’s top-rated global transparency reporting solution. To learn more about how MediSpend’s Transparency Solution can empower your business to grow compliantly, contact us.

Bryan Stinehour
Director, Project Management