In a column published in MedCity News, Dr. Halamka outlines the cost of storing patient data at BIDMC. According to his calculations, the hospital generates approximately 1 terabyte of clinical text data and 19 terabytes of imaging data each year, which are stored for the first 15 years and seven years, respectively. Every year thereafter, the hospital begins deleting the oldest data so that the latest 15 years and seven years of data are constantly stored.
Dr. Halamka assessed total cost by multiplying 42 cents per patient for the first 15 years to store clinical text. Added to that is the cost of $1.89 per patient for the first seven years of image storage. Every year thereafter, cost per patient per year is 5 cents and 47 cents, respectively. “In my analysis above, some may question the cost per gigabyte I used. Feel free to multiply it by 10 such that text records could be stored for $4.20 per patient for 15 years,” he said. “It’s still very economical.”
Dr. Halamka points out that although costs may add up over time for larger patient populations and there are other issues to consider, BIDMC has not had to delete a single datum from an electronic health record due to such low storage costs.
Read Dr. Halamka’s column on the cost of data storage.
Read other coverage about healthcare costs:
– Sutter Health Extends EHR Offering to Physicians in Private Practice
