Swift Migration Of Legacy Data By DataArk Saves University Of Mississippi Medical Center Millions Of Dollars

The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) recently engaged MediQuant, Inc., a provider of enterprise data archiving software, to archive both clinical and financial electronic medical records totaling 21 million accounts under a stringent deadline.

In September 2012, UMMC identified the opportunity to decommission its mainframe-based legacy system for a potential savings of several million dollars over a three-year period. However, the hospital had to complete the migration by the end of the year to realize the savings.

The UMMC team faced a number of potential complications in the decommissioning process in addition to the tight turn-around time. The system had a large number of users, making it difficult to identify everything on the mainframe, as well as who owned it. Other concerns with the former software included security of the data and compliance with HIPAA regulations.

"It was imperative that UMMC find a solution that would both address these concerns and keep the decommissioning project on track with the deadline," MediQuant Project Manager Cindy Adkins said. "MediQuant quickly validated to UMMC that our expertise in both financial and clinical archiving was an asset to their project."

Accomplishing a project of this size and scope in the time frame required is almost unheard of. However, using MediQuant's DataArk, an "active archive" that safely migrates data sets from legacy systems when organizations transfer to a new information system, UMMC was able to migrate huge volumes of data in three months. On the financial end, 950,000 distinct medical records and eight million patient accounts needed migrated. The clinical count landed at 794,000 distinct medical records and 13 million accounts. All data had to be validated and one-on-one comparisons were required for sampling.

"DataArk proved to have the capabilities and track record to make UMMC feel comfortable moving forward with this partnership," said MediQuant President, Tony Paparella. "Through a strong work plan, proven methodology and great communication and dedication from both teams, our deadline was realized and UMMC was able to save millions of dollars. MediQuant's expertise allowed our client to reach its goal in just 90 days. We are very proud of this joint project. "

UMMC completed the data migration just under the wire and moved into 2013 with its new software in place. UMMC now has a robust application with more than 5,000 physicians registered as end users and more than 400 concurrent users at any given time.

Located in Jackson, Miss., UMMC employs more than 9,000 people and is one of the largest employers in the state. Hospitals & Health Networks, the flagship publication of the American Hospital Association, named the University of Mississippi Medical Center among its 2013 "Most Wired" list for healthcare facilities.

About MediQuant
In business since 1999, MediQuant develops advanced software solutions that reduce time, cut costs and increase revenue for a wide range of hospitals and healthcare organizations. Extensive healthcare software development, past revenue cycle management, clinical services and data management expertise enables MediQuant to craft unique solutions to common problems encountered by chief financial and information officers, patient accounting and human resource directors, as well as physician practice managers and clinicians. For more information, visit www.mediquant.com.