---
id: "coronavirus-smarter-crowdsourcing:strategies/Standardize-data-entry-fields-across-existing-syst"
type: "GovLab policy strategy"
title: "Standardize data entry fields across existing systems."
url: "https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/strategies/standardize-data-entry-fields-across-existing-syst"
summary: "Standardize data entry fields across existing systems. Governments should work with partners to standardize data elements across health IT systems so that data is easily shareable between systems."
source: "The GovLab (coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org)"
licence: "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)"
---

# Standardize data entry fields across existing systems.

Standardize data entry fields across existing systems. Governments should work with partners to standardize data elements across health IT systems so that data is easily shareable between systems.

- Timeframe: 1+ years (structural change)
- Audience: Private Sector, Healthcare Providers, Nonprofits
- Type: Policy/Legislative/Regulatory, Data, Partnerships
- Recommendation: [National Patient Identifiers](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/recommendations/national-patient-identifiers)
- Part of: [Smarter Crowdsourcing in the Age of Coronavirus](https://coronavirus.smartercrowdsourcing.org/)

## Actions governments should take

1. Convene stakeholders who manage Electronic Health Record systems in the country and encourage a cost benefit analysis of current system(s)
2. Identify specific opportunities to make immediate improvements to interoperability (such as standardizing similar fields across systems)
3. Identify specific opportunities to make long-term improvements to interoperability (such as inter-system identifiers)

## Examples from around the world

1. Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS) uses a [National Healthcare Card](https://www.saude.gov.br/acoes-e-programas/cartao-nacional-de-saude), assigned to patients to keep track of medical records. The card, which has recently been digitized into an [electronic National Health identification card system](https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/brazil/healthcare/health-system) with a personal identification number, allows healthcare providers to access a patient’s medical information anywhere in the country. This is possible due to a central database accessible from any public or private hospital within the Unified Health System network.