Archiving data obtained in the healthcare sector has eliminated the need for record rooms and paper data almost entirely, but is the system perfect as it is? Patient data increases by the gigabyte daily and giant mainframes are still in use, trying to store it efficiently. But managing patient data is a whole new ballgame. I mean, we have millions of gigabytes worth of patient data stored in mainframes all over the country, how beneficial is raw, categorized data? Legacy data archiving is needed now more than ever.

Why Do We Need to Archive Data in the Healthcare Sector?

There are a myriad of reasons why the healthcare sector needs proper data archival. The first being that the healthcare sector is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the global digital community. In fact, the annual growth rate of the healthcare segment is almost 50% annually. Naturally, to keep up with the growing data we need a sound and up-to-date archival system in which data storage and retrieval are both to our content.

Nearly 700 terabytes of data were generated per hospital in 2015 and in 2020 the estimated data generated has been around 2500 exabytes. All of this data is recorded by hospitals that update around 800,000 new records per hospital every year. This staggering amount of data generated every year needs a powerful legacy data archiving storage system to store and retrieve it.

The data that is recorded is not just in the form of written records of histories and examination results. Hospital data also consists of CT Scans, X-Rays, MRI results, and any other visual data that the patient may have provided. One three-dimensional CAT scan uses nearly 1 GB of storage. So we can get a rough idea of the volumes of data that is stored only in visual patient information.

What is Driving The Healthcare Sector to Archive Digitally?

Not only is there a general need to archive data digitally, but there are also driving forces that are pushing us to archive healthcare data with a developed system. For example, records need to be modified or updated because of patient expirations and to diversify their portfolios. Other than that, healthcare reforms occur rather frequently since the healthcare sector is also one of the most rapidly developing ones.

To keep up with these modifications, we need a well-built legacy data archiving system in which making changes and updates is not a hassle.

In addition to this, there is actually a minimum record retention period for every state. For example, you need to retain data in Washington, North Dakota, and Kansas for 10 years, in Utah, California, and Indiana for 7 years, and Alabama and Georgia for 6 years. In Minnesota and Massachusetts, you need to store the data for 30 years. In most states, PHI or protected Health Information needs to be retained for 7-25 years.

Because of this constant need to update the system with the available information, we need an archival system that is easy to operate and can retrieve all kinds of information with ease.

Many factors make a complex clinical system that needs to be archived digitally with ease. These include radiology information, lab reports, revenue management, storage of pictures and visual aids, and even a system to manage the practice in a hospital. All in all the complex clinical system needs an equally competent archival system.

How Do We Benefit From Archiving Data?

There are quite a few benefits to be had from a data archival system. The first and foremost one being the reduction of storage costs. Archiving data properly can create around 90-95% savings in the overall revenue of the clinic when compared to system licenses and complex infrastructures.

Other than that, because of cloud-based storage systems, the risk of losing data is minimal. Paper records were lost extremely easily, but even backups stored in buildings were threatened by disasters such as fires and other hazards. Losing data in a competent archiving system is nearly impossible.

Legacy data archiving systems are also very easy to access. The interface is often friendly enough to be run by most of the hospital’s staff so you can grant special access to nearly anyone who can run a computer!

A well-developed data archival system will also help you to consolidate data, which means that you can categorize data into one place so it is easy to access, especially compared to raw data that would require a lot of sifting to get through.

Another fascinating aspect of legacy data archiving systems is that you can comply with different branches of the same hospital or different hospitals in a specific state to collect and consolidate different data from all over the country.

Naturally, the benefits of having a proper system to store and manage patient data are endless.

What are the Possible Data Elements that We Need to Keep Track of?

Now, what exactly are the different data elements of each patient that we need to keep track of? What exactly is the average digital footprint of a patient?

Allergies are some of the most common patient information that a hospital needs to keep track of. No matter what hospital in the country you visit, if your data is archived properly, the hospital can pull it out from the cloud and keep track of the allergens that give you a reaction.

Other than that, there are immunizations, medications, a complete history of the past and present of the patient, results of lab reports, and scanned images, including X-Rays, CAT scans, and others that the patient has given out through the years.  

If stored properly, these data elements can actually help in saving lives and make the overall healthcare sector stronger in the United States of America.

What are the Key Elements of a Legacy Data Archiving System?

So we have a complete picture of why we need a proper data archival system for our healthcare sector. Now, what exactly is a well-developed, competent archival system offering us?

The key elements of a good data archival system include an integration system. An integration system can combine data from different sources into a coherent, comprehensive form that is easy to interpret by anyone who has access to it.

Other than that, a competent legacy data archiving system is also fully secure. The data is encrypted so unauthorized personnel cannot have access to it and it can only be obtained by staff with special access. The data is stored in systems and also on the cloud so that you can have access to it from anywhere in the world. Not only that, but data stored on the cloud is nearly impossible to lose since it is not physically present anywhere. Cloud-based storage can also keep data safe from short-circuits, fires, and other such disasters.

Data archival systems are also highly reliable. For example, they have more than 99.9% SLA Uptime, which means that the system is available and operational 99.9% of the time.

All the data archived in the system is also available in a single repository which makes it secure and also accessible by specially authorized personnel only. The data of each patient is also isolated from the rest so that only specific people can make use of it when necessary.

 All in all, a good data archival system is of utmost importance to the healthcare sector in the United States. It is the best way to store and retrieve patient data in an ever-developing world where new information is available every single day.

Partner Up

In any scenario where you need to be medico-legally accurate, get some help. Reach out to your legal staff, state websites, and industry experts who can ensure that you have all of the information you need to plan your legacy data archiving record retention accordingly.

If you aren’t sure where to start in your unique scenario, shoot me a message, I can steer you in the right direction.

-Dan Holleran | 314-471-3409 | dan@pdehealth.com | www.pdehealth.com