MediQuant is conducting a multi-phased rollout to address the legacy archiving needs – a record-breaking petabyte of data – of a faith-based, major health system that is transitioning to a new EHR. Though the organization had worked with other archiving vendors in the past, their 2020 search for a collaborator on this project led them back to MediQuant, a valued partner since 2013. The reasons include the quality and timeliness of the work; the tailored suite of enterprise-based solutions; and the knowledge, experience, innovation and level of service from MediQuant that have created mutual trust and respect.
Profile
The customer is one of the largest healthcare providers in the United States and boasts 80,000 professionals delivering holistic care to millions of patients in more than 100 physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and hospice centers. Recently, the Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog for hospital quality and safety, ranked the system’s hospitals among the nation’s top five percent in healthcare quality and safety.
The Challenge
For any health system, the daunting transition to a new EHR must address financial and personnel burdens as well as concerns about data integrity during migration, cybersecurity, semantic interoperability, and threats to patient safety from limited access to legacy records.
Despite the challenges, the decision for the entirety of this health system to switch EHRs was dedicated to giving their healthcare practitioners the best possible tools to better serve their patients. That included the hiring of long-trusted partner MediQuant for its legacy data archiving – a record 1,000 terabytes (one petabyte) of patient and patient accounting information. By comparison, the world’s largest library, the Library of Congress, comprises an estimated 20 terabytes of text data.
“We switched EHRs to connect the data dots within our network and offer a better patient and provider experience. But we’re a large organization with about 10 years’ worth of information that needs to be accessible in an active, functioning archive. There are a lot of moving parts, and we require a partner who not only has the solutions but has our backs, is transparent, and works with us as a team. That’s MediQuant to a tee,” remarked the organization’s director of data center and disaster recovery.
The Solution
The organization found the robust solutions it needed in MediQuant’s DataArk® and OpenArk™. DataArk provides the ability to access and work with relevant legacy data, offering functionality without the security risks and the added expense of operating both new and legacy systems in parallel. It creates an easy user interface that integrates with the EHR for simplified access to clinical and accounting data. OpenArk provides a safe, static place for any non-active legacy data. The organization is currently working on some 70 projects, with 20 in active implementation.
“We are on a mission to improve patients’ health outcomes and quality of life. To accomplish this, we need quick and easy access to patient historical data across our enterprise. While some other archive systems just provide a stagnant PDF that cannot be used for research or anything other than an occasional historical reference, with DataArk, we can quickly retrieve files, easily update old records, move documents and continue billing activity, working down our Accounts Receivable,” said the organization’s data archiving manager.
MediQuant’s proprietary technology is central to the success, but one clear differentiator was the support provided for the implementation. According to the data archiving manager, “Our MediQuant team includes a phenomenal project manager and implementation consultant. It is unusual to work with professionals who bring skilled technical knowledge to the process, helping us to successfully implement a program within our systems. Given our years of working together, we are sure they will deliver on their promises. MediQuant specialists know their way around our different business segments and specific needs. This takes the pressure off my team.”
The Results
“Much of the work is ahead of schedule,” declared the director of data center and disaster recovery. “MediQuant was able to eliminate many steps in the data extraction process by having the data go directly from a third party to them, instead of going through us. The unleashed data is proving to benefit both the care of our patients and the bottom line, bringing us peace of mind.”
The data archiving manager concurred. “When all is said and done, the transition to the new EHR and the smart use of our legacy data is the best of both worlds. And it will save us millions of dollars a year because we don’t have to pay to keep our old system running to easily access historical data.”
“Much of the work is ahead of schedule. MediQuant was able to eliminate many steps in the data extraction process by having the data go directly from a third party to them, instead of going through us.”
Advice For Others
“With MediQuant, we have found a true partner, not the hit-or-miss capabilities of other vendors for our technology systems,” said the director.
Our client had this advice to other organizations making the move to a new EHR:
1. Look for an archiving partner that is passionate about what they do and has deep bench knowledge and experience.
2. Beware of cookie-cutter solutions that don’t work in the real world. Your partner should be open to tailoring and even innovating on your behalf.
3. Establish a team spirit with trust and full transparency, so any problems can be worked out together quickly.
4. Don’t leave archiving until the end. It’s a major part of your transition.
5. Define the project, the data and the process so that you can do what you’re really here to do — serve patients.
“With MediQuant, we have found a true partner, not the hit-or-miss capabilities of other vendors for our technology systems.”