Advantages of Archiving Health Information

These advantages are many, but we’ve compiled the most impactful ones below.

Satisfying PHI Regulatory Requirements

The first advantage of archiving health information is that it can help you comply with HIPAA regulations. One of the key aspects of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is protecting patient privacy, and archiving data helps to ensure that patient information is not lost or stolen.

When patient data is archived, it is stored in a secure location that can only be accessed by authorized personnel. This helps to protect patient information from being accessed by unauthorized individuals, and it can also ensure patient data is not lost or corrupted. That way, healthcare organizations can focus on providing the best possible patient care rather than worrying about compliance.

Enhance Research for Better Patient Care

Another advantage of archiving health information is that it can improve patient care. When data is archived, it is easier to access and retrieve, which means that clinicians can more easily review a patient’s history and make informed decisions about their care. The research aspect is also essential, as archiving data can help to identify trends and improve patient outcomes. With this data on hand, you can make changes to your policies and procedures to better serve your patients.

One example is if a hospital is noticing that many of their patients are being readmitted to the hospital soon after they’re discharged. By reviewing their records, they may be able to identify a trend that can help them make changes to their discharge planning process. As a result, they can reduce the number of readmissions and improve patient care.

Improve Data Analytics

On that note, let’s also discuss how archiving health information can improve data analytics. When data is archived, it can be analyzed more easily to identify trends and improve patient outcomes. In addition, the ability to access large amounts of data quickly can help healthcare organizations make more informed decisions about patient care as well as many other aspects of running a healthcare organization.

Reduce IT Costs

Next, archiving health information can also reduce IT costs. Storing data in an archive can free up space on your primary servers, saving you money on storage and maintenance costs. Additionally, data archiving can improve system performance by reducing the amount of data that needs to be processed.

Avoid Data Breaches

Cybersecurity is top of mind for many healthcare organizations. In fact, data breaches are becoming more and more common, and they can be extremely costly. A significant advantage of archiving medical data is that it can help to avoid data breaches. In addition, when data is stored in an archive, it is more difficult for unauthorized individuals to access it. This helps avoid not only data breaches but also the associated costs.

Improved Disaster Recovery

Another advantage of archiving health information is improved disaster recovery. Data stored in an archive can be quickly recovered in the event of a disaster. This is critical for healthcare organizations, as data loss can significantly impact patient care along with being costly and inconvenient.