IT relocation, in the healthcare sector and any other industry, is about relocating your IT systems and data to a new location, along with your members of staff and equipment.
But during the change, your company will likely face various challenges, especially if you’re relocating for the first time.
Challenges of IT System Relocation and How to Handle Them
There are three main challenges you could face when relocating your healthcare IT systems: logistics, budget, and downtime.
So, let’s explore each of those challenges.
Logistics
Logistics can pose major challenges when relocating your IT systems.
For instance, in a worst-case scenario, you could find your new location does not meet the requirements for relocating your servers and phone lines.
Therefore, it’s essential that you plan ahead by understanding the needs of your IT systems before you make the move.
As long as you move at the right time and you move your systems in the correct combination, using a route planner, you can overcome logistics challenges.
So, come up with an effective plan for the entire logistics involved with relocating your IT systems before you do anything else.
Of course, you also need to plan ahead for other, non-IT, logistics, like moving office furniture and other items, especially if you’re moving long distances from one state to another.
So, make sure you compare the best interstate moving companies to find the best one long before your move date.
If you’re moving abroad, you’ll have even more logistic issues to address. And you’ll need to find a reputable international moving company. You’ll also need to recruit new staff.
Budget
Your relocation is sure to require financial resources, regardless of whether you’re handling the relocation yourself or hiring an IT relocation outsourcing provider.
If you don’t budget ahead of time, you could soon face multiple challenges involved with not having enough allocated funds.
By researching and planning, you can reduce variables that may otherwise cause big problems and ensure you have the funds in place to make your relocation a success.
Downtime
One problem that every organization faces when relocating IT systems is downtime.
The more downtime your organization experiences, the more productivity will be affected.
So, actively identify ways in which you can minimize downtime for your IT systems before you move, such as setting up alternative lines of communication during the relocation phase.
It can also be a good idea to engage in your relocation step-by-step to minimize downtime, such as moving your most significant IT systems first.
Data Migration
You will need to migrate data as well as your IT systems, and that can present a new set of challenges.
However, once again, you can minimize problems by planning ahead.
Create a Plan
You can overcome challenges by creating a workable roadmap long before you begin the data migration process.
By coming up with an effective plan, you can ensure you know what volume of data needs to be migrated and designate resources and funds appropriately.
And by knowing your specific data migration requirements, you can choose the best migration solutions.
You can also avoid data duplicates and alterations and ensure you comply with regulatory requirements.
Data Interoperability
Seeing as medical records are heterogeneous, interoperability is one of the biggest challenges of healthcare data migration.
Different tools can generate data in versatile formats that are incompatible with your new systems.
If you plan to move data to a more advanced system, you will need to ensure data interoperability, which means having experts on board who have professional knowledge of interoperability standards like USCDI and HL7 FHIR.
Data migration through APIs can then run smoothly.
Regulatory Compliance
You should already know that anyone who manages healthcare data needs to be compliant with HIPAA, HITECH Act, and CCPA, as well as other regulations.
So, don’t overlook that when migrating data.
You can avoid challenges and legal problems when you have experts overseeing your data migration.
Types of Healthcare Data Migration Tools
Healthcare providers can use several kinds of medical data migration solutions to move data.
The types of healthcare data migration tools that you choose will depend on your budget, your migration strategy, and the volume of data you need to relocate.
The three most common solutions are as follows.
Self-scripted
If you have a small volume of clean and well-structured data, you could use self-scripted tools.
That means using simple pieces of code that run several processes to move health records and other data.
You’ll need an internal tech team to implement self-scripted tools.
On-premise
There are various on-premise data migration systems available.
Some of the best are Microsoft SQL, IBM InfoSphere, Fivetran, and RI NextForm.
However, cloud services are often the best option.
Cloud Services
Cloud services are the most commonly used choice for healthcare providers as they enable organizations to convert massive data volumes automatically while creating backups and eliminating the need to use in-house hardware.
Cloud solutions tend to be the quickest and most cost-effective option.
You can use leading tools like Google Cloud VMware engine, AWS Data Migration Service, Carbonite, and StarfishETL.