The Purge feature in Fovea enables healthcare organizations to securely remove patient or administrative data that has surpassed the required retention period while ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory guidelines. This helps maintain data security, optimize storage, and retain only necessary records. Accessing the Purge Feature.
Accessing the Purge Feature
To access the Purge feature, log in to the application, click on the Settings main menu, select Auto Purge Rules from the submenu, and then click on New Rule to create a purge rule.
Creating a New Purge Rule
Setting up a purge rule in Fovea allows organizations to manage archival data efficiently while ensuring compliance with retention policies. Follow these steps to configure a purge rule:
1.1 Select Source System
Choose the appropriate source system from the dropdown list. This ensures that the purge rule applies to data within a specific system, preventing accidental deletion of records from unrelated sources.
1.2 Apply Document Filters
Define specific criteria to determine which records should be purged. Filters can be applied based on the following parameters:
- Department – Specify the department (e.g., Radiology, Cardiology, or Billing) to restrict purging to records associated with a particular area.
- Document Type – Choose the type of document to be purged, such as lab reports, discharge summaries, or billing statements.
- Tags – Apply predefined tags (e.g., “Confidential,” “Archived,” or “Financial”) to refine the selection further.
Note: Users can exclude documents with tags that are not to be purged for legal reasons. For example, compliance-related reports or legal hold documents must be retained per regulatory requirements.
1.3 Apply Patient Filters:
You can also filter data using:
- Patient Encounter Data
- Date of Birth
1.4 Click the Save button to confirm the rule.
Example of a Purge Rule Setup
A hospital wants to automatically purge old billing records while retaining medical records for compliance. The purge rule can be configured as follows:
- Source System: Hospital Billing System
- Department: Billing
- Document Type: Patient invoices
- Tags: "Paid in Full"
- Encounter Date: Before Jan 1, 2017 (for records older than 7 years)
With this setup, any patient invoice marked as “Paid in Full” and associated with an Encounter Date before Jan 1, 2017 will be deleted from the system after 90 days. However, medical records and unpaid invoices will remain intact.
This structured approach ensures that only records meeting the specified conditions are purged while preserving critical patient and operational data.
Rule Execution and Notifications
Once a rule is configured, the data will be purged after 90 days as per the defined settings. A green notification bar will appear at the top of the screen, confirming the rule creation. Additionally, you will receive an email notification informing you about the scheduled purge.
Managing an Existing Purge Rule
Users can edit or delete an existing rule within the grid using edit or delete icon after navigating to the Auto Purge Rules main menu. To stop the purge, simply delete the rule from the menu.
If immediate assistance is required, contact Support for help.