What Good is Bad Data?

I recently read an article about a hospital system in Pennsylvania spending a horrendous amount of money on a software platform that they hope will provide interoperability of the information from a variety of systems and sources into accessible, consistent data. The article suggests that the software will also help alleviate confusion among physicians who use similar medical terms and will help physicians differentiate between generic and brand name drugs. It all sounds great.

My concern is the integrity of the data to begin with. There is a lot of money being invested in technology meant to make health information more accessible and user-friendly - but hardly anyone is talking about the quality of the data or how to protect it. I would argue that the output is only as good as the input. You can't prepare a gourmet meal using expired ingredients - and you shouldn't make medical decisions on information that hasn't been verified.