During audits, which practice directly supports data integrity by ensuring data accuracy and consistency?

During audits, which practice directly supports data integrity by ensuring data accuracy and consistency?

• A. Restricting access
• B. Regular backups
• C. Validation of data accuracy
• D. Public posting of records

Answer: (C)

Validating data accuracy is the practice that directly supports data integrity during audits. By applying validation rules, you check that values are correct, properly formatted, and consistent across related systems and fields. This means ensuring identifiers match where they should, dates and numerical values fall within expected ranges, and cross-field logic is satisfied (for example, a birth date aligns with age, or a PM and billing record reference the same encounter). When data pass these checks, auditors can trust that the records reflect reality and that inconsistencies or errors won’t misstate outcomes. Other options, while important for governance, don’t directly confirm data correctness. Restricting access helps prevent unauthorized changes, but it doesn’t verify that the data themselves are accurate. Regular backups protect against data loss, not accuracy. Public posting of records would expose data and undermine confidentiality without ensuring data quality.

Validating data accuracy is the practice that directly supports data integrity during audits. By applying validation rules, you check that values are correct, properly formatted, and consistent across related systems and fields. This means ensuring identifiers match where they should, dates and numerical values fall within expected ranges, and cross-field logic is satisfied (for example, a birth date aligns with age, or a PM and billing record reference the same encounter). When data pass these checks, auditors can trust that the records reflect reality and that inconsistencies or errors won’t misstate outcomes.

Other options, while important for governance, don’t directly confirm data correctness. Restricting access helps prevent unauthorized changes, but it doesn’t verify that the data themselves are accurate. Regular backups protect against data loss, not accuracy. Public posting of records would expose data and undermine confidentiality without ensuring data quality.