Unveiling the Key to Choosing the Perfect Archive Solution: 4 Expert Q&A

Data shifts can feel overwhelming.

Whether it’s due to a merger & acquisition or deciding to sunset an application, there are multiple complex considerations that warrant some analysis when your data environment shifts.

It is important to note, for most complex data-related scenarios, no two situations will ever have exactly the same solution. Hence, it is essential that you select the right vendor for your health data archival, who would not just securely archive your data but would also understand it and provide a unique solution that would work specifically for your health organization’s data set.

So, how to pick the right archive solution for your organization’s health data?

Let’s just say the key to choosing the perfect archive solution is asking the right questions.

Asking pertinent inquiries enables you to make informed decisions when selecting an archival system and ensures a successful outcome. Here are some of the points that you should think about:

1. What level of data storage structure and segregation is necessary for your solution?

At the very least, the archival solution should store all of the original data as it is. If it needs to transmute the data to combine and display, it should ideally be done just-in-time for display.

Data from different sources and different categories (clinical, financial, etc.) should be stored separately. Different views can combine data to show correlations or a comprehensive picture across the sources.

2. Which types of interfaces and integrations will your users require?

Will you only need to access data through a separate visual UI with the occasional CSV exports, or do you need API access as well to connect it to other systems yourself? Would you need the data to be deeply integrated with your existing (or upcoming) EHR so that your users can see the data right there?

3. What kinds of data representation and manipulation capabilities will your users need to have?

The minimum requirement might be to see all the data related to a specific identifier (like a patient) in one view, whether in the solution or integrated within your EHR. But what if you would need to be able to search and filter data based on other criteria? Do you need to filter only on an ad-hoc basis, or would you need a feature to save the filters and share them with your team? Do you need better slice-and-dice capabilities than just simple filters on various data attributes?

4. How complex are your data retention and purge policies?

It’s crucial to have a recurring automated system to identify data records that should be purged. These should be able to flag on the basis of a variety of factors, including the patient (e.g., date of birth, data of last encounter, etc.), provider, facility, and insurance.

If your organization is going to have exceptions to these scenarios, the system should be able to implement a workflow that allows specific users to purge, put on-hold, or remove from purge consideration.

It’s also very important to have a detailed audit log of all these activities and the ability to generate data destruction certificates.

These guidelines are some food for thought that could help you start the journey of finding the right archival solution.

If you are interested in learning more about how to select the right healthcare data archival vendor and follow the right process of data archival, stay tuned for our next email. We will be sharing additional Q&As as well as valuable insights and tips that will help in making your archival process easier and more effective.