Image: Blue Planet Studio/Adobe StockData is the world’s astir invaluable resource, and healthcare produces immoderate of the astir invaluable data. The aesculapian assemblage generates and stores monolithic amounts of highly delicate information, meaning it indispensable instrumentality its information operations seriously. Healthcare information migration is 1 of the trickiest of these information operations to execute securely and effectively.
SEE: Data migration investigating checklist: Through pre- and post-migration (TechRepublic Premium)
As trends similar telehealth and digitization proceed to turn successful the healthcare industry, truthful excessively volition these already tremendous information volumes. That maturation volition mean galore healthcare organizations volition person to migrate their information astatine immoderate point, which is simply a process that requires cautious planning.
Jump to:
- What is healthcare information migration?
- Best practices for healthcare information migration
- Migrating your information with confidence
What is healthcare information migration?
Healthcare information migration is the process of moving aesculapian accusation from 1 determination to another. With 96% of U.S. hospitals utilizing physics wellness records, that often means moving diligent records to a caller EHR platform. Alternatively, immoderate aesculapian organizations whitethorn migrate information from 1 infirmary to a caller carnal location.
SEE: Health information governance and the lawsuit for regulation (TechRepublic)
Healthcare information migration tin notation to non-patient information arsenic well. For example, you whitethorn privation to transportation fiscal accusation oregon different organizational records to a caller system, whether that’s moving to the unreality oregon transferring information centers.
Another crushed for migrating healthcare information is to make much abstraction for caller information successful a higher-capacity retention medium. You whitethorn besides determine to transportation to a caller retention level successful bid to amended your cybersecurity oregon regulatory compliance.
Best practices for migrating healthcare data
Whatever the specifics, healthcare information migration involves copying and/or moving perchance delicate information, which introduces sizeable risk. Here are immoderate champion practices to travel to minimize these risks and guarantee information migration runs smoothly.
Review immoderate applicable standards
The archetypal and 1 of the astir important steps successful healthcare information migration is ensuring that your information is compliant with applicable regulations. Your enactment and its accusation whitethorn autumn nether aggregate regulations similar HIPAA, the California Consumer Privacy Act oregon the General Data Protection Regulation, each of which dictate however you tin store definite kinds of data.
It’s important to reappraisal these standards to spot if you person immoderate information with circumstantial ineligible requirements. For example, portion HIPAA-covered information is exempt from CCPA, immoderate accusation successful HIPAA-compliant companies isn’t. If you don’t admit this information and use the indispensable safeguards successful your caller system, it could make ineligible trouble.
Assess and signifier your information earlier moving
Many parts of the migration process — including gathering regulatory guidelines — are overmuch easier erstwhile you person capable visibility into your data. Before moving anything, it’s important to audit your information to find what you have, wherever you store it, however you usage it and immoderate circumstantial information needs. This accusation volition usher your decisions astir what to determination and however to determination it.
SEE: Data prime successful healthcare: Current problems and imaginable solutions (TechRepublic)
You apt don’t request to migrate each your data, truthful you should archetypal measure it to spot what’s astir mission-critical. Because 75% of Americans implicit 65 person aggregate wellness conditions, you whitethorn person much elder patients than immoderate different demographic. Consequently, it makes the astir consciousness to absorption connected moving elder diligent records to a much unafraid oregon scalable platform.
Alternatively, you whitethorn person aggregate unnecessary copies of immoderate information, truthful you should delete extraneous files earlier migrating to guarantee a smoother transition. Reviewing and organizing your information volition assistance uncover these needs for a much strategical migration.
Choose your migration tools and retention systems carefully
It’s besides important to take your adjacent information retention mean carefully. Look for a solution that is scalable and reliable capable to grip larger information volumes portion adhering to your organization’s information requirements. Similarly, reappraisal immoderate information migration tools you usage to marque definite they’re unafraid and enactment good with the kinds of information you’re moving.
If you’re moving with 3rd parties similar unreality vendors oregon bundle providers, cheque their past and certifications to spot if they person a beardown information way record. Incidents similar the Red Cross information breach item however 3rd parties’ weaknesses tin impact your data. To debar this benignant of issue, corroborate that these parties are trustworthy and travel information governance and information champion practices earlier you assistance them entree to delicate information systems.
Create backups
One elemental but easy-to-miss measurement successful healthcare information migration is backing up your astir important data. Mistakes tin hap during migration, adjacent with thorough readying and reliable tools, and your accusation is excessively delicate to presume these errors won’t hap to you. Creating unafraid backups of each captious information earlier migrating volition guarantee migration issues don’t pb to information loss.
SEE: Best backup software (TechRepublic)
HIPAA outlines stringent backup requirements for protected wellness information, which service arsenic fantabulous guidelines adjacent for non-HIPAA-covered data. Look for a backup solution with encryption, beardown authentication controls and monitoring functions. Cybercriminals tin get conscionable arsenic overmuch from your backups arsenic information successful your main retention medium, truthful it’s important to support these secure.
Form and travel a elaborate migration plan
Finally, beryllium definite to make a formal, elaborate data migration plan for erstwhile and however you’ll determination your data. This program should see the pursuing details:
- What information you’ll determination to a caller location.
- What tools you’ll usage to determination it.
- What clip and day you’ll determination each dataset.
- How you’ll backup your data.
- Who is liable for each measurement of the process.
- What to bash if thing goes wrong.
The much circumstantial your program is, the easier it volition beryllium to determination your data. Be definite you tin easy stock this information, too, arsenic mistakes are little apt if everyone understands their roles and knows wherever to crook for questions.
Migrating your information with confidence
Healthcare information migration whitethorn beryllium intimidating, but with thorough planning, it tin beryllium a smooth, unafraid process. Making the astir of this determination starts with knowing what you request from your migration tools and systems and what tin spell wrong.
SEE: Data governance checklist for your organization (TechRepublic Premium)
With a elaborate information migration plan, you tin guarantee your information operations are scalable, harmless and compliant with applicable legislation. From there, your squad tin marque healthcare information actionable for some diligent and organizational outcomes.
Read next: Top 10 information migration tools (TechRepublic)
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