NMVO: better prepared to choose a secure data platform
How NMVO worked with Datalab to sharpen requirements, data security and supplier proposals for a medical data solution.
15 December 2022
3 min read
Stichting NMVO manages the Dutch National Medicines Verification System. That system helps verify whether medicines are genuine and safe before they reach patients. The organisation wanted to detect chain issues more effectively and sought support with an important choice around software and data platforming.
"Thanks to Datalab, we are better able to ask the right questions."
Dorien Verbree, director at Stichting NMVO
The Challenge: Making Better Use of Secure Medicines Data
NMVO wanted a signalling tool that recognises patterns in data. Early detection matters for medicine safety. An error may occur, for example, when a medicine is not scanned at the right moment in the chain. Knowing where, when and preferably why that happens helps make the process safer.
Software can support this, but the question was how NMVO should select a capable supplier or developer. As a small organisation, NMVO does not have every technical discipline in house, while the choice has major consequences for security, feasibility and future usability.
The Approach: Testing Realistic Requirements and Proposals
NMVO already had several suppliers in mind and wanted to know whether their proposals were technically sound, realistic and feasible. Datalab reviewed the solution directions and helped the organisation better understand which requirements and wishes made sense.
"To make a good software supplier selection, it is important to know which requirements and wishes are realistic."
- Dorien
By looking together at data analysis, constraints, data security and implementation choices, NMVO could speak with potential suppliers at the same level. Datalab assessed proposals and provided background information, so NMVO entered the selection process better prepared.
The Solution: A Stronger Conversation About Data Security and Feasibility
Datalab's contribution was not only technical, but mainly helped sharpen the question. Which data is needed? Which processing is responsible? How do you safeguard security? Which requirements are necessary, and which would make the project unnecessarily complex?
Datalab also suggested technical solution directions for optimising data security. This made the supplier selection more concrete and reduced the risk that NMVO would invest in a solution that later proved unworkable.
The Result: Better Choices and Less Investment Risk
Because NMVO better understands what is technically possible and what needs to be considered, the organisation can make a better software supplier selection. Critical review of technical proposals prevents misplaced expectations and reduces the risk of an unusable investment.
For public and health-care-related organisations, this is exactly where good data governance starts: not at the dashboard, but at realistic requirements, data security, ownership and a solution that fits the organisation's capacity.
