It's one of the fundamental ingredients that should go into the mixing bowl when formulating good policy.

But, it seems, after a data-doctoring scandal going back to 2011 and a series of internal, external and out-sourced reviews, ACT Health is still unable to get the basics right.

The latest chapter in the ongoing saga of health data problems came to light after the capital had the ignominious honour of being the only jurisdiction in the country not to have met a Productivity Commission deadline to provide emergency department data.

It follows the well-known "data-doctoring" scandal during then-Chief Minister Katy Gallagher's time, widely put down to pressure placed on staff to meet "four-hour" processing targets in the ED, targets that are still a cause of considerable consternation.

Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris said the failure to meet the deadline was due to the directorate's Director General Nicole Feeley outsourcing a review of data integrity to the agile and innovative minds at PwC after last year's budget estimates.

That review, Ms Fitzharris said, had not been completed in time to be able to provide the commission, or the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, with the data by deadline.

Despite that latest review, a previous PwC review after the 2011 data breaches completed in 2012 and two ACT Auditor-General reports in the past five years, Ms Fitzharris indicated it was now time for a "comprehensive, system-wide review" of health's data reporting and processing systems.

"It's clear ACT Health needs more time to ensure their data management and quality assurances processes are robust and accurate," she said.

"That's why today I have announced a comprehensive, system-wide review that will take us back to basics when it comes to the collection, analysis and reporting of our health data."

Of course, these data problems will not directly affect the quality or timeliness of care provided to Canberrans and our close New South Wales neighbours who use the system.

But without reliable and appropriately recorded and analysed data, we could, perhaps, lose out in the quantum of federal funds which the ACT would be owed under current financial arrangements.

Or, worse still, the ACT may not actually be analysing the demand for services in the health system adequately - a more difficult problem to solve and one which could have wider ramifications on policy-formulation in the venerable territory bureaucracy's offices, particularly given the ACT's hospital system is among Australia's most expensive.

Understanding why it is so expensive, and how to find efficiencies, depends on accurate data.

If we look to the recent historical record, the last report from Auditor-General Maxine Cooper released a little over 18 months ago highlighted that "non-admitted patient data is inadequate".

"The Health Directorate needs to continue to address the root causes and impacts of errors in non-admitted patient data, and develop and implement policies and procedures for improvement, as a high priority," Ms Cooper wrote.

While the problems in that audit related to non-admitted data, and the latest problems (we are told) only relate to emergency department admitted data, there are clearly long-standing issues that need resolving (call in the ITC contractors).

Canberrans should not be forced to wait out another term of government before changes are made.

One hopes the new "system-wide" review will actually, this time, address the "root causes and impacts" of the continued errors.