All You Need To Know About Ehr Archival

By Author: Triyam Inc
Total Articles: 26
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Health care organizations create large volumes of data every year in the form of patient records, lab results and medical images. State laws and Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) require providers to store this information for years. As a result, health data archiving such as EHR archival should be a key component of an organization's overall IT plan.

Protecting patient data is another critically important task for any healthcare organization. One of the most effective ways to do this involves EMR and EHR patient data archiving. One benefit is that it ensures compliance with HIPAA and other regulations . Additionally, it offers authorized users quick access to data, safeguards against data loss or destruction, and offers significant cost advantages.

Read further to learn more about the fundamentals of the EMR/ EHR archival process and its importance.

Topics discussed:
What is archival data?
What is the EMR data archive?
What is archival data storage?
What is the difference between data backup and data archival?

What is archival data?
Archival ...
... Data are data that were collected in the past, usually for a purpose other than research. EHR/EMR data archival is the process of moving inactive records from legacy systems containing key-sequenced data sets to a long-term storage system. It is an important aspect of a long-term data retention strategy for healthcare organizations.

A copy of the data created expressly for long-term storage and reference is known as an archive. After the archive copy is created and stored, the original data may or may not be removed from the source system, however it's typical for the archive to be the only copy of the data.

Archive Uses
•In contrast to a backup, whose purpose is to be able to return a computer or file system to a state it existed in previously, an archive can have multiple purposes.
•For those with requirements for easily searching through volumes of media, an archive provides simple queries through metadata attached to each file, which can be applied manually or using AI. For some businesses, an archive provides a permanent record of legal documents, film, photos, directories and more to satisfy the information retention and deletion compliance required for HIPAA, etc.
•An archive is frequently used to ease the burden on faster and more frequently accessed data storage systems. In addition, archival storage systems are usually less expensive, creating a strong motivation to move historical files elsewhere to save money on data storage.

Archives are often created based on these criteria:
1.The age of the data.
2.The amount of time since data was last accessed.
3.Whether or not the main user is still with the organization.
4.Whether the associated project has been completed or closed.

What data can be archived:
Financial/Billing/Revenue Cycle
Clinical EHR
Non-patient data
Departmental data
Discrete data/ other document types

What is the EMR data archive?
In healthcare, EMR and EHR patient data archiving refers to the process of storing electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) in a secure, long-term repository. Not only will archiving save the cost of a legacy system, but it will also make it easier to access older EMR data and solve conversion problems. EMR data archiving will also combine data storage while significantly lowering risk.

EMR/EHR data archiving with Triyam delivers the following advantages:
Extracts EMR data from a legacy system, migrates the EMR data, and then standardizes the EMR data in a database
Stores clinical data discretely and not just in documents
Makes your historical EMR data accessible, simple, and easy-to-use
Ensures compliance with state and federal regulations for legacy patient records
Safeguards the continuity of your patient care
Increases the speed of your new EMR system
Saves money by archiving legacy data then shutting down your old EMR system
Allows you to quickly search, print, and export your patients’ records
Ensures safe, secure and compliant PHI data
Allows storage in the cloud so it can be accessed anywhere
Allows access with a secure link to the patient chart in the archive from the new system

What is archival data storage?
There are 3 types of archival data storage.

On-prem- is when data is stored on local hardware, such as servers, computers, or other devices. For example, if you purchase a server and set it up at your office, you and your team can store your data on that server. Benefits of this include: Increased security, offline usage and reduced internet costs.

Off- prem- here a third party provides and maintains the infrastructure, facilities, and allied services.The organization doesn’t have the responsibility of maintaining the facilities or infrastructure. Organizations using infrastructure maintained by cloud service providers only need to worry about identifying the ideal resource combination for their applications.

Cloud - It allows you to access your data from anywhere, which is a huge benefit for businesses with remote workers. In the past few years, cloud storage has become available for businesses of any size. To access your data, all you need is your device and an internet connection, making it simple for your team to stay connected.

What is the difference between data backup and data archival?
By 2025, the world will generate 463 exabytes of data every day. That’s as much data as one million storage pods. This alone should underscore why being savvy about your online data storage will only become more important in coming years.

To the uninitiated, archiving may sound like another form of data storage: by backing up your files, you are also archiving them. Surprisingly, that’s not the case. Here’s the short story on the difference between these two concepts.

•Backups provide for recovering data from hardware failure, data corruption, or other loss.
•Archive helps you manage space limitations and long-term data retention.
So, if you are eyeing your own ever-expanding data footprint and wondering where and how to securely store it all, we have a few things to tell you about the difference between archiving and backup functions.

Why You Need Both Backup and Archive
It’s clear that a backup and an archive serve different purposes. Do you need both?
•If you’re a storage-heavy business, the wise choice is yes. Consider the business reasons for choosing both data storage methods:
•Ease of Use- Reliable, remote access, and secure backup and archive make it easier to provide archived data or help you to overcome issues and meet the budget and timeline your client’s desire.
•Resources- Automated and supported archives and backups keep your resources focused on business, not on technological infrastructure problems that could cause costly reboots and replication failure.
•Cost- You will be able to make better financial decisions regarding your data production and protection if you have access to a reliable, secure archive and backup solution that is reasonable and offers clear pricing.
•Compliance – Backups and archives assist you in maintaining compliance with SLAs, industry best practices, and customer assurance.
•Protection- An archive and backup system will keep your proprietary data safe, secure, and accessible as needed so you never fall behind because of lost or corrupted data.

Triyam provides Data management services and solutions for healthcare organizations to decommission their legacy EHRs by extracting patient data and archiving in a Best in KLAS winner secure cloud.