We are seeing an uptick in inbound sales calls about disappointment in archiving vendor choices that hospital CIOs have made. Data extraction, migration and archival from legacy systems isn’t always straight-forward. Some legacy data archiving projects require advanced data management skills and deep industry, legacy system, and database experience. While there are many archiving vendors out there, not all are equipped to handle the complexities of the legacy data landscape in healthcare. Sometimes the calls come in after the project has failed. An IT Director reached out on our website for help. When we asked via email whether his organization had a current archive solution in place or was launching a search for one, the response was: “It’s complicated, we should discuss it on the phone.” It turns out that the CIO had decided to go with a competing vendor based on price. But, as the projects unfolded with barriers including encrypted files and antiquated database types, the vendor was unable to advance the project to completion. It is better when the call comes before a project is sourced. Another recent inquiry: We are looking at migrating from one EHR to another. We met with another company, but we weren’t convinced they could handle the task. Is this something you can do? When it comes to moving data, clinical experience matters. What is becoming common is that health delivery organizations are struggling to find the “right” vendor partner, and some are contracting with a data migration or archiving company only later to learn that they made a sourcing decision that wasn’t a good match for their project(s). In short, some of the archive vendors on the market cannot get the job done for the myriad of legacy systems in the provider’s inventory. Data can be complex, but finding an archive partner who can get the job done efficiently and effectively doesn’t have to be complicated. Archiving requires a nimble and experienced partner who understands clinical, financial and business data. Whether the system is Cerner Millennium® that was deployed across 15 hospitals, a Soarian billing system that requires accounts receivable wind down for millions in AR, or a simple Kronos time and attendance system – the vendor must have experience with any legacy system in the application portfolio. A recent case study outlines the stress and hassle when a complex data format halted an archive project. With decades of experience, and specializing in complex projects for large enterprises, the data experts at Harmony Healthcare IT dug into the issue with an electronic dental record’s odontogram files and delivered a customized solution and a seamless integration. Read the story that led to the client’s advice to other health IT leaders: There is complexity any time one is extracting or migrating data to and from EHRs… Make sure any archiving vendor has the right experience to handle the data. Harmony Healthcare IT has been around the block with data management – more than once. If it relates to the movement, storage or integration of data from within the technical infrastructure of your health system or medical practice, we’ll tackle it. We specialize in healthcare data management. Since 2006, our team of experts has extracted, converted, migrated and retained records from over 500 different clinical, financial and administrative software brands. We have earned industry recognition for data archiving, extraction and migration as well as being named to the Best Places to Work in Indiana and to the Best Places to Work in Healthcare. We take pride in those awards and also in the feedback from clients like the IT Director from a 25-bed critical access hospital in Wisconsin who shares in a case study: Looking to get it right the first time? Let’s connect.