Storage Needs in Healthcare

By Stacey McDaniel

Healthcare has always been a data-intensive industry. But today that data comes in various electronic forms, which must be stored and secured properly. Not only does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandate that all electronic protected health information (PHI) be maintained in a timely, secure, and organized manner, but the critical nature of the data also requires that it be available for retrieval 24x7.  In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires certain standards for retention and reporting. As a result, data storage solutions are becoming even more critical to the healthcare industry.

According to recent analysis from consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, storage hardware revenue in the healthcare industry totaled $845.2 million in 2004, a figure that is expected to grow to $1.33 billion in 2008. Most of the demand for advanced storage comes from medical images, patient records, and hospital administration-related data.

Healthcare is becoming more data-intensive every year. In fact, the amount of healthcare data being generated is quadrupling every two years. Another challenge is that this data must be relatively easy to retrieve. Healthcare professionals need to be confident that the information they are accessing is secure (meaning it has not been tampered with) and available whenever they need to access it.

Forms of data

Healthcare data has become markedly more technical in recent years as a result of increased spending on clinical information systems such as electronic medical records (EMR), computerized physician order entry (CPOE) solutions, and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), which digitally store cardiology and radiology tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results, and other large files.

Technological advances are producing more data in other ways, too. For instance, advanced diagnostic equipment such as new multislice Computed Tomography (CT) scans allows faster brain scans and can focus on thinner slices of tissue than previous CTs. But one multislice CT exam can require up to 1 gigabyte of storage, whereas older CTs use between 10 and 50 megabytes. Likewise, an increasing number of ultrasound machines now display 3D images, which more than doubles the data required by traditional 2D imagery.

With the increased investment in technology, and the increasing size of the data being created, healthcare organizations are seeking out a centralized storage solution that works with their existing infrastructure.

Important storage features

Qualities that are important in a data storage solution in a healthcare environment include:

• Easy integration and scalability Healthcare data formats are not homogeneous, so integration between such things as digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) and extensible mark-up language (XML) standards is important. Healthcare organizations also want a storage solution that will work with their existing computing environment. This leaves many organizations seeking consolidated storage management solutions that offer high scalability.
• Availability Healthcare organizations' reliance on information systems for every aspect of their operations makes fast, reliable access to data a top priority. Hospitals and other providers are a true 24x7 environment, often busiest in the middle of the night. There's never a good time for a problem to occur, or a good time to take systems offline for maintenance or upgrades. As a result, 100% availability is crucial.
• On demand storage Healthcare data needs are constantly evolving and growing, and the storage capabilities must be flexible enough to accommodate the changing nature of the data on demand.
• Secure storage Preventing anyone or anything (such as a virus) from altering or corrupting the content of private health information is essential, so a storage provider must provide complete protection of stored data with excellent backup and recovery.
• Address HIPAA compliance The storage solution must be in compliance with HIPAA regulations regarding data availability, security and privacy, and disaster recovery planning.
• Tiered storage The lifecycle of healthcare data is long and its immediacy lessens with time. Many organizations find it cost-effective to use a solution that provides storage levels that gradually change over time -- with the fastest retrieval times for the newest data, an intermediate storage system years later, and ultimately a deep archive where the data remains for the rest of its days.
• Simple administration Centralized and automated storage management gives the IT staff more time to focus on other patient care issues.

Storage solutions

More healthcare organizations than ever are faced with choosing the right storage solution. In the end, finding the right solution can mean lowering infrastructure costs, simplifying data management, achieving the data availability and disaster recovery requirements of HIPAA, and knowing that crucial data is going to be available and intact 24x7. The best solution solves needs now, but  is also agile enough to adapt as business changes in the future.

Stacey McDaniel has been writing about high-tech issues for more than six years.