Posts Tagged: data conversions

What’s the Process for a Multi-Location Pharmacy Data Conversion?

Posted by & filed under Pharmacy.

In many cases, a data conversion for pharmacy systems is simple. It’s one location changing their software. However, in the case of chain pharmacy or hospital pharmacy, there can be multiple locations. The need to migrate data can be due to an acquisition or a systemic switch to a new provider. This can be very cumbersome and concerning for pharmacy leaders. However, a multi-location pharmacy data conversion is easy with InfoWerks. See how we make it pain-free.

How Do Multiple Locations Impact a Data Conversion?

The simple answer is that there is more data! How you convert will depend on your specifications. Some questions we would ask include:

  • How much data do you want to keep for each location? For example, most migrations keep two years of current data. 
  • Are any locations closing and need data migrated to a new site? If you are closing a pharmacy, you’ll need to convert that data to another new location and archive the rest.
  • Do you want to archive data? And if so, who will need access? Archiving pharmacy records is a cost-effective way to ensure you met record retention requirements and can quickly obtain the files from a web-based system. 
  • What is your current software and your new software? Once we know this, we can determine if there are outliers or considerations, as each software is unique. Luckily, we’re platform agnostic and have worked with over 150 different ones. 

Does a Multi-Location Pharmacy Data Conversion Take a Long Time?

The specific timespan for your data migration is dependent on many factors. The amount of data is one of the most significant. Also, the cooperation of your current and future vendor will impact the timeline. 

Multi-locations aren’t always longer. The best thing you can do is plan ahead. Choose your data conversion partner early and work out the timeline with them from the start so that your Go-Live meets your needs.

Are There Other Special Requirements for Multi-Locations?

The number of locations matters less than the accuracy and state of the data. If there is a large amount of unstructured data, that can add additional requirements to the project. Our specific process has steps that take into consideration all the things we know to be true about data pharmacy conversions. 

We know all the areas that can cause challenges and proactively prepare for them with our customers. You can learn more about pharmacy data conversions in our whitepaper, The Ultimate Guide to Pharmacy Data Conversions. 

Trust InfoWerks with Your Conversion Projects

We’ve been migrating pharmacy data for over two decades, and we’ve got you covered. If you’re beginning a conversion project, then connect with our experts today to get started. 

Healthcare M&A Activity Expected to Rise in 2021: What Does It Mean for Healthcare Data Management Needs?

Posted by & filed under Healthcare.

healthcare M&A

Are M&A (mergers and acquisitions) ready to take off for healthcare? Healthcare M&A has always been part of the ecosystem. A new report from Moody’s expects M&A activity to increase due to several factors. 

This post will break down those factors and what this means for healthcare data management needs.

Why Will M&A Activity Increase?

According to the Moody’s report, there are several factors behind this trend. Let’s dive into those next. 

Hospitals and Health Systems Want to Expand and Diversify

Many not-for-profit systems are seeking to expand geographically and develop new revenue streams beyond low-paying government programs. They may acquire more specialty services to offer more procedures, which could increase patients. 

For-profit hospitals also want more opportunities to make money. They are targeting out-of-hospital services that align with consumer desires for flexible care. 

Small, rural hospitals have been struggling during COVID-19, leading to many closures. To curb losses, they are looking for partnerships and affiliations.

These factors are in line with a report from Kaufman Hall that revealed the total number of hospitals and health systems declining. However, the remaining ones are larger. The report also notes that there were only 72 deals in 2020, a 14% decrease from the 2019 number of 92. 

Payers Add Non-Traditional Services

Payers want to generate more revenue, too. They saw declines in 2020 simply because wellness screenings and elective procedures dwindled during the pandemic. Payers aren’t expected to merge but acquire non-traditional services. 

UnitedHealth group purchased Change Healthcare. Cigna acquired MDLive, and Centene paid $2.2 billion for Magellan Health. 

Healthcare Staffing Mergers Pick Back Up

Last year, these M&As slowed to conserve dollars. With financing available at attractive rates, there will likely be some consolidation. Moody’s lists potential acquisitions for AMN Healthcare, ONEX TSG Intermediate, U.S. Anesthesia Partners, and Radiology Partners.

With More Healthcare M&A: Data Becomes a Key Asset to Migrate, Archive, or Share

When healthcare organizations merge or acquire, there are a million moving parts relating to legal, compliance, and finances. There are also challenges around healthcare data management. 

Data Conversions

For entities acquiring others, they’ll need to migrate these new divisions into their EHRs and other health information systems (HIS). That requires a healthcare data conversion. It’s a tricky process with many caveats. A migration strategy is a good idea to discern what and how to move data. 

Data Archiving

Acquirers don’t have to convert all the data from older systems. You can choose to archive patient records that are older or inactive. You still have to keep them to comply with record retention regulations. The cost-effective, secure, and easy answer is to move the documents, images, and data to an archive. Select one that’s web-based, so accessibility isn’t an issue. You’ll also be able to decommission legacy systems, which are expensive to maintain and, if no longer supported, leave you open to risk.

Data Sharing

With any healthcare M&A, new systems need to exchange data and communicate with each other. This type of work can be time-consuming stretching thin already overwhelmed internal IT teams. There are options to outsource healthcare data sharing so that interoperability isn’t hindering your operations. 

Don’t Forget About Your Data in M&As

Data can be an afterthought in healthcare M&A. It shouldn’t be! It’s one of your most valuable assets and what ensures processes and ultimately better patient care. If an M&A is on the horizon for your organization, find a healthcare data management partner like InfoWerks. Contact us today to learn more.

What Is Healthcare Data Management?

Posted by & filed under Healthcare.

what is healthcare data management

The question, what is healthcare data management, doesn’t have a simple answer. It’s complex and includes many different nuances and challenges. The entire healthcare ecosystem is part of the answer. Simply put, it’s how a healthcare organization manages its data.

That management of data includes keeping it private and observing compliance mandates. It also deals with the data’s accessibility, portability, and interoperability. The amount of healthcare data is increasing every minute. Its value to the delivery of care, reducing costs, and improving public health is immense. However, the true potential of healthcare data remains untapped. 

In this post, we’ll look at the ways that we address, what is healthcare data management. 

Data Management Includes Moving It

Data movement in healthcare includes many subsets. There are data conversions and data sharing. In a healthcare data conversion, you move patient data from one software platform to another. It sounds easy, but it’s rather complex. 

To migrate data successfully, you must:

  • Follow compliance guidelines.
  • Ensure field matching is accurate.
  • Include a robust QA process.
  • Move structured and unstructured data.

Those are the pillars of successful healthcare data migrations. Because there is no industry standard for EHRs or pharmacy management solutions, you can’t just copy and paste or use a simple program. It’s a process that requires expertise, testing, and quality controls to deliver the most accurate outcome.

Data sharing is also critical in data moving. Internal and external systems need to exchange data in a secure and consistent process. Data sharing is a data management pain point for many, but it’s necessary to support decision-making and have a holistic view of public health. 

Another aspect of sharing is patient access through portals. Most EHRs have this feature and share data automatically, but there may be additional information that patients should be able to retrieve. For example, lab reports are sometimes in other systems, requiring the portal to acquire that data from its host. 

Data Management Requires Storing It

Storing data is another segment of healthcare data management. First, you should have secure cloud backups of all your applications and data. This function is imperative for strong cybersecurity practices.

The other element of storing data is archiving it. Healthcare data archiving enables you to move data from active or legacy programs into a centralized repository. It’s then accessible, secure, and searchable. In addition, you’ll be able to meet medical record retention guidelines by archiving. 

Data Management Involves Analyzing It

Healthcare data has little value without analysis. By leveraging technology platforms, you can derive critical insights from your data. You can begin to answer micro and macro questions based on the patterns and trends in your data.

Data analytics will likely be the most critical aspect of healthcare data management. It has the potential to improve care delivery and be predictive for both public outcomes and individual patients. Further, it could reduce costs, helps organizations maximize revenue, and more business-focused needs.

What Is Healthcare Data Management? It’s How You Use It 

Healthcare data management means many things. What it means to your organization is how you use it. Your data must be accessible, portable, and interoperable to have healthy data operations. When you don’t have those functions, it derails your capabilities. We’re experts in all areas and are a healthcare data partner of choice for many organizations. Explore our healthcare data management solutions today.