Best practices for EHR and Data Protection - December 1, 2009
Orlando Florida -- Regardless of how universal health care legislation now being debated by the U.S. Congress turns out, it is a certainty that the coming decades will be characterized as the age of health care, where an increasingly older population will demand a greater number and variety of medical services, offered in a more cost-effective way. In spite of the rancor associated with the health care debate, just about all parties agree that a significant source of cost in health care delivery is associated with simply managing medical records -- by some estimates, as much as $1 billion to $2 billion annually. Reducing cost associated with electronic medical record (EMR) retention and manipulation, therefore, is attractive to all parties. Management and storage of EMR data, consequently, have become of increasing interest to storage solution providers, who through economies of scale and scope can promise lower storage costs. There are, however, several significant considerations that may make EMR storage services problematic for some providers, says Brian McCarthy CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions and well known speaker on the subject of Storage.
Security. It goes without saying that medical records are not like ordinary business data. In the first place, such records must be absolutely secure. There is an increasing body of regulation such as HIPAA as well as a judicial record of successful lawsuits that make the penalty for revealing personal medical data very painful and expensive. As a result, the potential liability of providing EMR storage services can be very high. And while liability insurance is available for such breaches, liability prevention -- having the appropriate security protocols and data integrity checks to prevent data leakage in the first place -- is critical. Hardened storage with extensive access restrictions is a must, as is extensive background research on every employee having access to such records.
Retention period. Medical records also have very high retention requirements. In many cases, they may outlive the patients whose health care history they represent. Storage arrangements will need to recognize that such records will have to remain viable for many years or decades. This includes ensuring that the storage media are consistent with existing technology, through regular audits of existing and industry-standard media and storage techniques, as well as ensuring that, if necessary, storage can be assumed by a third party. Depending on how viable in the long run you believe your operation to be, this may involve contractual arrangements with long-term archival providers or obtaining insurance that would pay for such long-term storage should your company fail.
Data integrity. EMR data can literally represent life-and-death information. Data integrity is paramount, especially if such data represents files such as high-resolution imaging. Introduction of errors can corrupt images that will need to be reproduced, sometimes in ways that may threaten a patient's health. As with any data type, ensuring integrity can involve hot backups and routine consistency checks -- even if the data is encrypted.
Scalability. Medical records can be voluminous, with each record set containing many megabytes of information. Patient databases can be very large, running to terabytes for even a modest hospital. Such volumes demand a great deal of available storage and, since every visit to the doctor can generate large chunks of new data, the storage has to be very scalable.
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Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology
With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you can get:
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Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time and money Âand lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHREHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
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