Data management concerns the development of a system for and the overseeing of the process of data collection, data transfer, data compiling, data quality control, data storage, and making data available for analysis. Data management specific to AMR surveillance includes technical knowledge of laboratory information systems, semantic standards for data capture, data transfer protocols, relational databases, data security.

Data management experts from the WHO CC AMR team have set up and provide data management of several ongoing national AMR and health-care associated infections surveillance projects, including ISIS-AR, the Dutch Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Network (PREZIES) and Sentinel Surveillance Network for Infectious Diseases in Nursing Homes (SNIV). RIVM has provided the international data manager for European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS) and currently provides the international data manager for the CAESAR network.

Data standardisation is essential to allow comparison of data coming from different laboratories or from different surveillance networks. Data quality control is a process of assessing whether data complies with these standards and giving feedback on results so data can be updated or corrected.

Experts from the WHO CC AMR team have contributed to the development of the ISIS-AR, EARS-Net and CAESAR manuals describing the standardised data models for the respective surveillance systems. In addition WHO CC AMR experts contribute to the development of an international standard for AMR surveillance through global AMR surveillance working group related to the 2nd WHO Technical Consultation on AMR Surveillance. Together with partners a pilot is being conducted to develop a new AMR surveillance standard for data capture, storage and data transfer based on international medical terminology standards SNOMED and LOINC and international standards for transfer of clinical and administrative data between health information systems HL-7.

WHO CC AMR supports national AMR surveillance systems to set-up or improve their data management, standardisation and quality control through online and on-site technical support and capacity building workshops.