You’re an IT director or CIO and you are responsible for your healthcare organization’s IT infrastructure. This includes responsibility for the safety and well-being of millions of records of healthcare information for individuals nationwide…possibly worldwide. But don’t worry…no need to be concerned. Because you are prepared. Your organization is up to the task of managing this data and ensuring it is protected, available, and accessible. Ready? Maybe, maybe not.
I’ve identified four key areas that any healthcare IT leader should be concerned about. You can never be too careful or too concerned. You are tasked with managing this data and these four concepts should be high on your list of key concerns for the data you handling on a daily basis…
I’ve identified four key areas that any healthcare IT leader should be concerned about. You can never be too careful or too concerned. You are tasked with managing this data and these four concepts should be high on your list of key concerns for the data you handling on a daily basis…
Data integrity and security. One word…err…acronym: HIPAA. That nice little thing called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The HIPAA Privacy Rule regulates the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) held by "covered entities" (generally, health care clearinghouses, employer sponsored health plans, health insurers, and medical service providers that engage in certain transactions.)
Data availability. Think disaster recover. Think frequent backups. Think 24/7 recovery and availability. Can you provide it? Healthcare is important to everyone and to individuals, employers, insurance companies, and medical providers all at the same time. The healthcare IT department must workable plans in place for disaster recovery and quick up time if an event should occur. Many contracts with outside organizations require proof of your capability to be back up and running productively fast and accurately.
Data availability. Think disaster recover. Think frequent backups. Think 24/7 recovery and availability. Can you provide it? Healthcare is important to everyone and to individuals, employers, insurance companies, and medical providers all at the same time. The healthcare IT department must workable plans in place for disaster recovery and quick up time if an event should occur. Many contracts with outside organizations require proof of your capability to be back up and running productively fast and accurately.
Data access. Many individuals want – and are getting – access to their own medical information. I have one son who has had to have numerous medial labs done by a phlebotomist over the past three years due to some health concerns and we regularly get our own copies of the labs so that we can be as educated as possible when we talk to all fourteen doctors, specialists and therapists who make up his support and provider team. We have all of his blood labs, all of his x-rays, all of his scans, readings, images, etc. Yes, it’s all a bit cumbersome…but it’s comforting to know we have them and can provide them to any new specialist right away who needs to seem them – and it’s been very helpful on more than one occasion. Not everyone wants this kind of access, but those who do don’t want to be told “no.”
Scalability. Can you handle it? It’s not like the information you manage is going to shrink. It will only grow in size. Think about it. The data you handle today is the data you’ll handle 20 years from now – times 100,000. It grows almost exponentially. Are you ready? Thankfully, data storage gets smaller, less expensive and easier every few years. But the data still grows and you need to be certain that you have the hardware and software resources to keep up with it. And the financial resources. Storage and data handling costs money – and as time goes by this cost of storage will become an ever-increasing percentage of your annual budget. Figuring out appropriate and economical ways to pass this on to your customers and various providers who require this information requires creativity that may be best left to your CFO.
Summary
Scared? Don’t be. Concerned? Yes, you should be concerned. Always. Someone else’s health data is important stuff and your IT group is responsible for it’s safety, privacy, well-being, and availability. No small task. And yes, it falls into the Big Data category with the potential for scalability of biblical proportions. More and more healthcare information is being captured all the time in increasingly detailed formats. Be prepared.
Scalability. Can you handle it? It’s not like the information you manage is going to shrink. It will only grow in size. Think about it. The data you handle today is the data you’ll handle 20 years from now – times 100,000. It grows almost exponentially. Are you ready? Thankfully, data storage gets smaller, less expensive and easier every few years. But the data still grows and you need to be certain that you have the hardware and software resources to keep up with it. And the financial resources. Storage and data handling costs money – and as time goes by this cost of storage will become an ever-increasing percentage of your annual budget. Figuring out appropriate and economical ways to pass this on to your customers and various providers who require this information requires creativity that may be best left to your CFO.
Summary
Scared? Don’t be. Concerned? Yes, you should be concerned. Always. Someone else’s health data is important stuff and your IT group is responsible for it’s safety, privacy, well-being, and availability. No small task. And yes, it falls into the Big Data category with the potential for scalability of biblical proportions. More and more healthcare information is being captured all the time in increasingly detailed formats. Be prepared.
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