Safeguarding Healthcare Data: Storage Strategies That Inspire Patient Confidence

When patients entrust healthcare providers with their medical histories, diagnostic images, and treatment records, they expect not only clinical excellence but also meticulous care in managing their data. As the digital healthcare landscape grows and is amplified further by rising AI adoption, inefficient or unsecure data storage undermines this trust. 

Increasing data volumes expand the attack surface, exposing sensitive information to risk. The healthcare sector accounted for 18% of Australia’s reportable data breaches in the first half of 2025, the highest among industries. This stark reality underscores the urgent need for healthcare organisations to adopt holistic data governance strategies that build trust, support informed consent, and uphold the integrity of Australia’s healthcare infrastructure.

This blog highlights three essential best practices to transform data storage from a mere compliance obligation into a strategic asset that strengthens patient confidence. 

1. Establish a Strong Data Governance Framework

The challenge: Australian healthcare providers manage data across diverse systems and multiple cloud platforms. According to Forrester’s The State of Cloud in Australia and New Zealand, 90% of Australian enterprises use multicloud environments, and nearly the same proportion of large organisations employ multicloud architectures. This widespread use complicates data governance, leading to fragmentation across platforms. Without a unified framework, policies become inconsistent, compliance gaps increase, and patients may lose confidence in how their information is handled. Healthcare providers must meet strict requirements under the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and other regulations, with failure resulting in significant penalties and loss of trust.

The solution: A strong data governance framework enables organisations to manage information consistently across diverse systems and multicloud environments.  By identifying and having clear policies on data classification, retention, and access controls, it positions healthcare organisations at the forefront of patient data protection. Automating the enforcement of policies and protection mechanisms transforms compliance from a reactive obligation into a proactive strategy. This also helps support patients and their informed consent by clearly defining how and why data is collected, stored, and used — facilitating readiness for AI-driven healthcare delivery.

Impact on trust and compliance: Transparent governance policies assure patients that their data is managed responsibly and securely, aside from demonstrating organisational accountability. 

The AvePoint Confidence Platform provides the ability to automate multicloud governance policies across Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, AWS, Salesforce, and others. This helps healthcare organisations with consistent governance, access controls, and information lifecycle, addressing governance fragmentation with a unified system. 

Check out our free eBook, “4 Data Governance Best Practices for AI Success,” which offers key steps to bolster your data governance strategies to guide your AI journey.

2. Automate Information Lifecycle to Minimise Data Exposure Risk

The challenge: Recent research findings reveal that the healthcare sector currently accounts for nearly 30% of global data generation. By 2025, the same research notes that data volume is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 36%. Without active lifecycle management, data uncontrollably proliferates across systems and repositories. Many organisations retain patient data well beyond regulatory requirements, increasing exposure to cyberthreats and inflating storage costs. Lack of visibility into data locations and access permissions further exacerbates risk.

The solution: Intelligent automation classifies, tags, archives, or deletes data in accordance with retention schedules and legislation. High-value, frequently accessed patient records remain readily available, while older data is securely archived or destroyed. Automation eliminates the time spent manually undertaking this classification and subsequent actions, reduces unnecessary data hoarding, optimises storage efficiency, and reduces vulnerability by minimising data surface area.

Impact on trust and infrastructure integrity: By committing to purposeful data minimisation – that is, to securely archive or appropriately dispose of outdated information – intelligent automation demonstrates respect for patient privacy and reinforces trust. Patients are empowered through clearer, time-bound data retention policies, making informed consent meaningful rather than a generic acceptance of indefinite storage.

The AvePoint Confidence Platformprovides centralised visibility of risks across disparate systems in your environment, providing full awareness of an organisation’s data estate. The Confidence Platform also provides AI-powered lifecycle management, automatically identifying sensitive data and enforcing retention policies based on clinical and legal needs. This enhances data visibility, reduces breach risks, and streamlines regulatory compliance. This transparency ensures clinical decisions rely on accurate and up-to-date information while strengthening compliance evidence.

3. Implement Robust Security Controls and Zero Trust Access Architecture

The challenge: Healthcare organisations face an escalating threat landscape where weak access controls expose patient data to both internal and external threats. Traditional perimeter-based security is no longer sufficient, particularly as staff, medical specialists, and third-party providers increasingly require remote access across multiple locations and devices. Overly permissive access rights – where users can view information beyond their clinical need – create unnecessary exposure. Meanwhile, patients have limited visibility into who accesses their records, undermining their ability to provide truly informed consent.

Reinforcing this urgency, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) reported in its Annual Cyber Threat Report 2025, that the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received over 42,500 calls to the national Cyber Security Hotline — a 16% increase from the previous year. The ACSC also responded to more than 1,200 cybersecurity incidents, marking an 11% year-on-year rise.

The solution: A zero-trust security model verifies every access request based on least privilege, thereby granting only minimum access required for specific roles and clinical responsibilities. This combines multifactor authentication, continuous identity verification, and granular permission controls — adapting to location, device, and data sensitivity. Regular audits revoke unnecessary permissions, while detailed logging creates transparent audit trails. Access logs show patients who viewed their records and when, reinforcing control over their personal health information.

Impact on trust and informed consent: Stringent access controls demonstrate commitment to protecting patient confidentiality. When patients understand that only authorised clinicians can access their records and that all access is monitored, trust deepens. Transparent logging supports meaningful, informed consent by providing visibility into data usage, moving beyond abstract policies to tangible accountability. This strengthens healthcare infrastructure integrity by reducing insider threats and limiting breach impact.

The AvePoint Confidence Platform’s approach to data security posture management (DSPM) helps Australian healthcare organisations enforce zero trust by continuously discovering and classifying sensitive patient data, then applying least-privilege access controls. It identifies overexposed records, automates remediation, and monitors permissions across cloud environments. With real-time risk insights and audit trails, this DSPM approach strengthens security posture, limits insider threats, and ensures only authorised individuals can access data. This transparency supports informed consent and builds patient trust through demonstrable accountability.

Forging a Future of Trust and Compliance

The future of Australian healthcare depends fundamentally on trust built through deliberate, transparent, and secure data storage practices. Implementing a strong governance framework, automating lifecycle management, optimising storage systems, and embedding cybersecurity are not just regulatory requirements but strategic imperatives that empower healthcare organisations to uphold patient confidence and system integrity.

With smart, AI-powered solutions in the Confidence Platform, healthcare providers can confidently navigate the challenges of growing data volumes and cyber threats. Embracing these best practices paves the way for sustainable, patient-centred care that respects privacy and supports informed consent at every stage.