Optimizing JSON columns in Laravel

HasVirtualFields.php

namespace App\Models\Concerns;
 
trait HasVirtualFields
{
    public function save(array $options = [])
    {
        if (isset($this->virtualFields)) {
            $this->attributes = array_diff_key($this->attributes, array_flip($this->virtualFields));
        }
 
        return parent::save($options);
    }
}

migration.php

$table->string('approved_at')
    ->nullable()
    ->virtualAs("json_unquote(json_extract(data, '$.latest_approval_date'))");
 
$table->index('approved_at');

model.php

use App\Models\Concerns\HasVirtualFields;
 
class Document extends Model
{
    use HasVirtualFields;
 
    protected array $virtualFields = [
        'approved_at',
    ];
}