In healthcare, downtime is more than a nuisance, it’s a serious threat to patient care, operational continuity, and financial health. When electronic systems fail, hospitals face cascading consequences that affect every corner of the organization. From revenue loss and delayed treatments to data exposure and compliance risks, the true cost of downtime is staggering.
Here are eight statistics that highlight the urgent need for downtime preparedness in healthcare.
1. $7,900 per Minute
The financial impact of downtime is steep. As reported by Datto, the average cost of downtime for hospitals is $7,900 per minute. That means even a brief 10-minute outage can cost nearly $80,000, before factoring in reputational damage or recovery efforts.
Source: Datto – The Cost of Downtime
2. $500,000+ per Hour
Healthcare organizations may lose over $500,000 during a single hour of system disruption, according to HIPAA Journal. That figure includes lost revenue, canceled procedures, IT response, and broader operational fallout.
Source: HIPAA Journal – The Cost of Downtime in Healthcare
3. 96% Have Experienced EHR Downtime
Nearly all healthcare institutions are affected. A study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine revealed that 96% of hospitals experienced at least one unplanned EHR downtime event over a three-year period. These aren’t rare occurrences—they’re the norm.
Source: Journal of Hospital Medicine – Unplanned Electronic Health Record Downtime Impacts
4. 70% of Incidents Last Over 8 Hours
Downtime is often prolonged. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, 70% of downtime incidents in healthcare settings last longer than eight hours – a full shift’s worth of disrupted care and delayed access to critical patient records.
Source: Becker’s Hospital Review – The True Cost of EHR Downtime
5. 80% of Patient Data Lives Outside the EHR
Your EHR isn’t the only system that holds patient information. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) estimates that as much as 80% of patient data lives outside the EHR, often in scanned documents or third-party systems. During downtime, this data is frequently inaccessible.
Source: ONC Strategy on Reducing Burden Report, 2021
6. $20 Billion Lost to Paper-Based Processes
Outdated manual processes are a major cost driver. According to Modern Healthcare, paper-based workflows cost the healthcare industry an estimated $20 billion each year. This problem becomes even more visible when digital systems are offline.
Source: Modern Healthcare – Paper-Based Healthcare Burdening the Industry
7. $50,000 per HIPAA Violation
Downtime can trigger compliance risks. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) outlines that HIPAA violations resulting from downtime-related data exposure can carry penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, and multiple violations are often uncovered during an incident review.
Source: HHS – HIPAA Enforcement Highlights
8. $10.93 Million per Data Breach
Healthcare remains the most expensive industry for data breaches. According to IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average breach in the healthcare sector costs $10.93 million, underscoring how critical it is to secure access to data, even during outages.
Source: IBM – Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023
Don’t Let Downtime Put Your Patients and Your Hospital at Risk
The numbers don’t lie, downtime is expensive, disruptive, and inevitable. But with the right strategy in place, hospitals can continue to operate safely even when systems fail.
That’s where dbtech’s Downtime Workstations come in. For just $299, dbtech provides hospitals with secure, real-time access to critical patient records even during EHR outages. With built-in compliance, automatic syncing, and seamless integration into your existing infrastructure, staff can keep delivering uninterrupted care when it matters most.
Be proactive. Be prepared. Contact dbtech today to learn how to keep your organization running, no matter what.