Healthcare organisations are aware of the legal and patient support implications of retaining previous patient data. As a result, they are looking for low-cost storage options that can readily scale up and allow them to keep past patient data. Storage and retrieval must be simple; archival programmes must be able to integrate access from inside the existing EMR. These are often hyperlinks contained inside the patient record that allow the user to launch the patient’s historical chart and present the user with the patient’s past history.

The struggle for healthcare organisations to provide world-class service is exacerbated by the ever-changing compliance requirements for patient data preservation, accessibility, and protection. Before we begin the data archiving journey, we should have a firm grasp on the numerous accessibility and retention variables of the archived data.

. Access to old patient records: A robust archive system will be able to map similar rights and group configurations as any data migrated to the new EMR will follow the new EMR permissions and processes.
. Archive application user interface: Ease of navigation, searching, and viewing of past patient data is critical for having both a simple user interface and patient charts organised in the same folder and report structure as your EMR. This will provide clinical professionals with easy and efficient access.
. Security/Permissions: Active Directory access to the Archive application enables single sign-on and simplifies switching between your EMR and Archive systems. If the folder and document mapping was correctly synced and access authorization was carefully mirrored between the EMR and Archive, then user access should be fairly easy to coordinate and should align and match. As a result, it is critical to ensure that the Archive system has multiple-level permissions and grouping capabilities around objects.
. Reporting: Because the archive programme handles access to previous charts, it is critical that audit tracking on past patient records be precise and even customised in order to correspond closely with the EMR.
. EMR Integration
.Patient/Record Level Linking: Direct access to archived charts from within your current EMR allows for a smooth review of both current and previous patient data. Users will be able to switch between the two platforms without having to memorise passwords. (Hyperlink – visit & record level)
. Data exporting: In some circumstances, exporting or uploading specific historical data from the archive to the current EMR (i.e., PACs, Labs, Meds) may be advantageous, and this should be addressed when selecting an archive system.
. Retention
 .Retention policy: Accurate MPI is essential for developing and enforcing retention policies. Based on patient visit criteria, the archive system should be able to specify chart and document-level purging. The presence of elements such as DOS, DOB-Peds, SRVS/TYPE, and others will result in a more accurate purging process.
. Compliance & Purging: When the archive retention module is set up and configured, it will enable for rules and exceptions within the application to automatically manage retention policies and maintain them within the compliance range. Having choices for purging verification might also be advantageous because it allows for a final inspection before the data are removed.