Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1311112
16 Executive Briefing Sponsored by: C OVID-19 has underscored the importance of data in: healthcare facility supply chain and capacity forecasting; diagnostics, treatment and prevention; and local, state and federal policymaking. America's hospitals are playing a central role in providing that data and the pressure is building, especially given growing public health demands. For example, a March mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services called for daily, detailed hospital reporting on the coronavirus and months later, some hospitals are still struggling to comply. Noncompliance can lead to loss of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. According to experts, some HHS data requests are fairly straightforward, but the categories don't always align with the way hospitals are tracking data, and the staffing required to complete some of the reporting can stretch strapped hospital workers thin. Others say there are critical gaps in the way the U.S. gathers, shares and analyzes healthcare data, due to the lack of a public health infrastructure. Start with the right EMR Now more than ever, hospitals must be excellent stewards of their data, using state-of-the-art ways to collect, view, store, exchange, aggregate and analyze information in the most compliant, effective and efficient manner. For starters, does their current EMR do the job? • Is it shared by all hospitals in the network? • Can it manage changing state and federal regulations? • Does it complement clinical workflows and business needs? • Does it ensure quality reporting, data integrity and security? • Is it easy to work with? • Does it save time? Most hospitals agree on the importance of having the right EMR. However, when switching to a new, improved EMR, they tend to overlook the legacy data that did not get converted. In with the new – but keep the old According to MediQuant CEO and President Jim Jacobs, "To shepherd the future, hospitals have to be good stewards of the past." While hospitals typically migrate about three years' worth of patient data to the new EMR, they have to decide what to do with the rest – patient records, radiological images, labs, insurance claims, etc. Much of it will need a reliable and accessible home in an active legacy archive. Beyond providing a view of historical information at the point- of-care, an active archive is essential for other reasons. Health information management (HIM) needs it to provide complete legal medical records upon request. An active archive is integral to successful legal and compliance audits. And as the pandemic has shown, legacy data within the archive is used for reporting, research, analytics and much more. But there are other long-term benefits. Form long-term policies. The implementation of an active archive requires the formation of a cross-functional governance team that will direct how historical records are managed long term to meet legacy health data storage, retention and destruction policies. The team, comprised of clinical, pharmacy, lab, IT, HIM and legal representatives, will identify the people, processes and platforms to create and support long-term data policies and strategies. Save time and money. A central, active legacy archive allows hospitals to decommission the old EMR, saving vendor fees and staff time needed to keep the old system running. For healthcare organizations with multiple disparate systems, the savings multiply. Eliminate silos. It is not uncommon for organizations to have upwards of 30 disparate legacy systems running at one time. Preserving records in a single location not only saves money, it simplifies search, access, request-for-information fulfillment and reporting. It can also help reduce the risk of mistakes and security breaches. Clean house. An extra bonus to creating a centralized active legacy archive is the built-in checks and balances that ensure data integrity and accurate transfer to the active archive, including fixes for missing, corrupt, incorrect, inconsistent or duplicate information. Plus, before the old legacy system is decommissioned, the data is tested and validated. Despite the often heroic efforts of dedicated organizations and individuals, the pandemic has revealed that the U.S. has a way to go in achieving effective and efficient data collection, sharing and analysis. One way hospitals can help is to shore up their own data, with EMRs and active legacy archives that ensure healthier data, hospitals and patients. n Why hospital data stewardship counts 1 Santhanam, L. (2020, October 12). PBS News Hour. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from PBS.org: How federal rules for reporting COVID-19 data could threaten hospital funding 2 Santhanam, L. (2020, October 12). PBS News Hour. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from PBS.org: How federal rules for reporting COVID-19 data could threaten hospital funding 3 Shaywitz, D. (2020, October 8). Articles & Op-Eds. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from AEI: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/how-federal-rules-for-reporting- covid-19-data-could-threaten-hospital-funding