Better Data = Better Decisions

Monday, January 17, 2010 Who said, "The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession"? Read on for the answer. . . When I first heard this quote, it reminded me of several recent meetings I have attended with executives in the health and human service field. The lack of data-driven decisionmaking—wherein tradition and preference are given more importance—is a historically common practice in our field. But the changing health and human service landscape makes this common practice a fatal one. With declining rates, performance-based contracting, and increased competition for consumers, the . . .