Data professionals in healthcare: Who they are and what they do?

Background: Digitalisation of health care has been ongoing for decades resulting in huge amounts of data that can be repurposed from clinical to administrative and strategic use. However, to be useful and meaningful, data require work by data professionals about whom we do not know much. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the diversity and characteristics of data professionals working in Denmark’s five regional healthcare organisations. To achieve the objective of knowing more about who the data professionals in health care are and what they do, we conducted a survey in the regions overseeing hospitals in Denmark. This supplements a previous study at a large, national healthcare data organisation, and together the two studies provide a comprehensive overview of who the data professionals in Denmark are. Method: An explorative mixed-method approach combining a non-probability technique for design of an open survey with an unknown target population, and 10 semi-structured interviews was applied. Results: We report on the educational backgrounds, work identities, competences, knowledge areas and how data professionals acquire their skills. There is a striking variety in all of these, though educational backgrounds in social or health sciences, work identities as data analysts and competences and knowledge areas around data and health care dominate. Skills and knowledge are primarily acquired through job experience and current employment. Conclusion: Data work is conducted by many kinds of data professionals throughout the healthcare sector from specialised data units to data workers at hospital wards. Implications for health information management practice: Initiatives to become data-driven in health care needs to support skill acquisition as part of employment and be available for a broad group of people.