Complying with Data Retention and Destruction Policies in Healthcare

Policies regarding the retention and destruction of data are very important in the healthcare sector. Given the amount of personally identifiable health information (PHI) that has to be collected, kept, and disseminated, it is expected of healthcare organizations that they will respect and comply with those policies not only because they are regulatory requirements. They are, more so, a matter of conscience and morality.?

Proper implementation of data retention and destruction policies protects the patients’ information, mitigates the risks of litigations and promotes observance of laws such as the (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) HIPAA compliance. In this paper, I will begin by addressing the significance of data retention and destruction policies, their relevance in the healthcare compliance, and lastly the security measures with regard to information management.

Why Data Retention and Destruction Matter in Healthcare

In healthcare, an organization has to adhere to a lot of policies and practices that have been put in place concerning the collection, storage, and preservation of even more data layers including patient health histories, treatments, and even demographic information of the patients. This information is quite sensitive and as such, falls under strict confidentiality. The wrong person using it could engage in identity crimes, fraud or trespass someone’s health records. Data retention policies state how long the data in question will be preserved, and destruction policies assure that the data in question will be purged when it is no longer required and will be done in a safe manner.

Nowadays data retention acts and even healthcare data destruction policies are of imperative importance in the healthcare sector yet to date these provisions are not strictly adhered to or even implemented. For example, the health insurance portability and accountability act states that a certain group of health records has to be stored for at least six years after which they can be discarded. Any violations these policies might have on the institution include monetary sanctions and reputational harm.

Regulatory Requirements for Data Retention and Destruction in Healthcare

Numerous laws and ordinances stipulate the data retention and destruction of the available information in the healthcare with variation on the expectations based on the type of the data in question. They include the HIPAA, the GDPR and the HITECH ACT.

HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA remains the most important law that governs the policies regarding retention and destruction of the healthcare data in the United States. It mandates that health institutions uphold PHI for a period not less than six years from the day it was last created or used, whichever comes last. Nevertheless, other statutes may require longer periods. The Security Rule under HIPAA gives further protection by ensuring organizations have policies to guarantee secured disposal of PHI are in place, such that it is impossible for the information to be collected or put back together after disposal.

GDPR

Implementing GDPR is an obvious priority especially for the healthcare organizations within the European union. Within the context of GDPR compliance, such personal data must be retained only for so long as it is necessary for the purpose or purposes for which it was collected. This means that a healthcare giver must proactively put in place a period when the data will be regarded as relevant and after which the data will be eliminated as per the established policies Fines imposed for failure to comply with the requirements for data destruction provided in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) reach 4% of the total yearly revenue of the breaching entity across the world.

HITECH Act

Launched the HIPAA program but especially its implementation in friendly EHR devices. Users - health professionals are encouraged to use EHR but along with that set of instruments comes a complex framework of rules regarding how to protect the information contained in these instruments and how to dispose of it, when it is not needed. Therefore adherence to HITECH’s data preservation and remediation policies in the healthcare sector is necessary for every facility that utilizes EHR.

Best Practices for Complying with Data Retention and Destruction Policies in Healthcare

Define Retention Policy and Related Key Considerations

Healthcare entities must clearly articulate policies on the information they collect, the retention periods for each category of information, and the steps for safely disposing of information when required. These policies will also be informed by legislation in and the needs of the organization. These policies must be also modified periodically to assess their relevance and adherence to the regulations in place.

Put in Place Processes for Secure Data Destruction

In addition to retention and destruction of data policies in the health sector, there is need to emphasize on having proper measures for the safe disposal of the information. All inactive paper files should be shredded, while all the information on active databases should be removed from all storage media. SysTools Data Wipe Software and other third party providers, provides erasure of certain data on hard disks, server and other storage systems, which minimizes the chances of recovery of such information by anyone without authorization.

Control Data Access and its Usage

In addition, data retention policies should also cover principles regarding the limitation of access to PHI and the time access is granted. Periodic evaluation of access records and conducting access audits are important in making certain that only allowed parties are able to use the sensitive information and how it is utilized. Such measures protect the patients’ information, as well as aiding in the adherence of compliance policies.

Training Programs for Employees

Compliant data retention and destruction in healthcare setting can be best exercised by continuous training of the employees. There is need for employees to appreciate the gravity of such policies and their daily integration in ensuring compliance and effects of noncompliance. Regular training and updates may also serve to inform the staff of any regulatory and best practice changes.

Employ Automated Means?

Automated systems will serve as great tools in the enforcement of the data retention and destruction policy. These automated systems assist in determining the age of the data, issuing alerts as the retention limit is approaching, as well as activating secure disposal procedures on the dated retention of the data. Such controls minimize the chances of human error since the processes involving the data are performed as outlined in the policy.

Barriers to Policy Implementation on Maintenance and Destruction of Data in Healthcare Facilities

Even with the best will to put data retention and destruction policies into action and observe them, challenges still persist. One of the leading issues is the increase in the amount of data that these service healthcare organizations gather. With such increasing data generation, securing and management of created data also becomes hard.

Another obstacle comes with the need to continuously adapt to regulatory compliance. Laws such as HIPAA, GDPR, HITECH, and others are subject to reviews to protect existing issues or introduced technologies. these changes require healthcare service providers to be reactive and revise their data retention and destruction policy changes.

Last but not least, the processes and mechanisms of ensuring secured destruction of data can sometimes be increasingly complicated especially to large healthcare organizations with more than one facility and different storage systems. This restriction may be addressed by employing one of the trustworthy service providers or applying a certified software intended for proper data sanitation.

Summary

Meeting the requirements for retention and burial of data in the healthcare sector is crucial not only to safeguard the confidentiality of patients but also to deal with the legal ramifications that arise and the consequences of policies not being followed. Therefore, policies need to be set out in writing, secure destruction devices come into place, and staffs should be educated in order to cope with the expressed solution for sensitive data retained by healthcare institutions.