EHR Downtime and Operational Risk

Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems are the backbone of modern healthcare. They centralize patient history, medication lists, and treatment plans. However, this centralization creates a massive vulnerability: downtime.

The Cost of Silence

When an EHR goes down, whether due to planned maintenance, technical failure, or a cyberattack, the hospital effectively goes silent. Clinicians are forced to revert to paper, slowing down care delivery and increasing the risk of medical errors.

Mitigating the Risk

Risk mitigation starts with acknowledging that downtime is inevitable. It is not a matter of "if," but "when." Therefore, preparedness is key.

• Redundancy: Having backup servers and redundant network paths.
• Offline-First Software: Tools like CodeDark Health that cache critical data locally, ensuring it is available even without a connection.
• Drills: regularly practicing downtime procedures so staff know exactly what to do.

By treating downtime as an operational reality rather than an anomaly, hospitals can build systems that are resilient by design, ensuring patient safety is never compromised by technical failures.