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The Risks of Delaying Healthcare Data Migration
Healthcare data is a valuable commodity. It can be used to improve patient care, streamline operations, and make healthcare more cost-effective. Yet many healthcare organizations are hesitant to migrate their data to new systems. They maintain legacy systems that are difficult and expensive to update, and they run the risk of data breaches and other security risks. In this blog post, we will discuss the risks of delaying data migration for healthcare organizations and the advantages of migrating that data to a new system instead.
Risks of Maintaining Legacy Systems
The risks of maintaining legacy systems are numerous and shouldn’t be ignored. Healthcare data breaches are becoming more common, and legacy systems are often the target. These systems are usually outdated and no longer supported by the vendor, making them easy targets for hackers. In addition, legacy systems can be difficult to update and maintain, which can lead to errors and downtime. They may also be incompatible with new healthcare technologies, meaning you could be missing out on important innovations.
One of the many misconceptions about retiring legacy systems is that it means losing data. Luckily, healthcare data archiving means this isn’t the case. Learn more.
Healthcare Data Breach
Next, we’ll discuss what a healthcare data breach can entail to highlight the importance of being proactive in preventing them at healthcare organizations.
A healthcare data breach can be defined as “an unauthorized acquisition, use, or disclosure of protected health information.” In other words, it’s when unauthorized people get access to your patients’ data or the organization’s financial or other sensitive data. This could be done through hacking, social engineering, or simply by stealing a laptop or USB drive that contains the data.
The consequences of a healthcare data breach can be severe, especially considering the sensitive and personal nature of much of this data. Not only could you be fined for violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule by HHS, or be liable for credit monitoring for all the patients involved, but you could also lose the trust of your patients. In some cases, healthcare data breaches have even led to patient deaths.
Unfortunately, data breaches are just one of many risks of delaying healthcare data migration.
Other Healthcare Data Risks of Delaying Data Migration
There are many other healthcare data risks that organizations need to be aware of. One is the risk of data loss. This can occur if data is accidentally deleted or overwritten, or if it’s lost in a natural disaster. Another risk is data corruption, which can happen when data is improperly formatted or damaged. Data leaks are also a concern, as they can occur when data is transferred to an unauthorized party. Finally, healthcare data can be at risk of being stolen in a cyber attack.
Now that we’ve covered some of the risks of delaying healthcare data migration, we’ll talk about ways you can avoid these risks.
Advantages of Data Migration
Migrating your data to a new system can help you improve patient care, streamline operations, and save money. It can also help you comply with new healthcare regulations and protect your data from security threats. The data migration process can be complex, but it’s worth it to ensure your healthcare data is safe and secure.
Here are just a few of the many benefits of data migration for healthcare:
- Improved patient care: When your data is up-to-date and easily accessible, you can provide better care for your patients.
- Streamlined operations: Data migration can help you streamline your healthcare operations by reducing errors and improving efficiency.
- Cost savings: Migrating to a new system can save you money in the long run by eliminating the need to maintain legacy systems, as well as the reduced cost of greater efficiency.
- Compliance with new healthcare regulations: Data migration can help you comply with new healthcare regulations, such as the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
- Protection from security threats: Migrating your data can help you protect it from security threats, such as healthcare data breaches.
As you can see, there are many advantages to healthcare data migration. Now that you know more about the risks of delaying data migration, you can make an informed decision about whether or not it’s right for your healthcare organization.
Healthcare Data Migration Process
If you’re considering healthcare data migration, there are a few things you need to keep in mind about the process.
Choosing the right healthcare data migration partner
First, you need to choose the right healthcare data migration partner. This partner should have experience migrating healthcare data and should be able to provide a detailed plan for your healthcare data migration.
Understand the risks (and how to mitigate them)
Second, you need to understand the risks associated with healthcare data migration. These risks include data breaches, loss of data, and downtime. However, by working with experienced healthcare data conversion specialists, you can ensure your data is migrated safely and securely. Data specialists, including those at Two Point, enlist extensive testing for your new system to make sure everything is working as it should. This helps you catch any problems or spot red flags early on and ensure your patients are getting the care they need.
Validating the data during the testing process is a critical element of data migration. Failing to do this can result in patient records errors not being found until it’s too late. That’s why we implement numerous testing phases to ensure the healthcare data is fully validated. We do this both in the testing phase as well as on live night to correct any errors prior to completion.
Plan ahead
Third, you need to have a plan for how you’re going to migrate your healthcare data. This plan should include a timeline, budget, and resources.
Expert Healthcare Data Migration Services
Working with Two Point means all of these steps and considerations will be handled for you—including security and compliance.
Our proprietary ACERT™ software provides healthcare organizations and facilities with the ability to nimbly convert accepted data to new systems. Once extracted, processing is designed to transform the legacy data into the new system’s inbound specification format. Once test data is approved, the process can be automated to run on go live. Then, your organization will enjoy the peace of mind of knowing its data security and compliance needs are covered.
Contact Two Point today to learn more.
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