Downtime Protection for Your EHR System: An Overview of dbtech’s Solution

26 January 2023

AUTHORED BY: Cally Kobza

If your EHR system goes down, so does your ability to provide patient care. EHR Downtime can result in lost revenue and even put patients at risk. That’s why dbtech offers a comprehensive downtime solution that ensures your vital patient information is always accessible. In this blog post, we will go over the features of our downtime protection solution and how it integrates with Cerner and other commonly used EHR systems.

Staying Connected During Cerner & Other EHR Outages

Our downtime solution is specifically designed to address EHR and other system downtimes including Cerner, MEDITECH and Epic. An interface to our solution via HL7 and/or document import feeds the downtime system with patient information in real time while systems are operational. In the event of downtime, users maintain access to that patient information online. Also using the downtime solution, you can create new encounters electronically, print armbands, labels, consents and other forms, and capture signatures electronically. After the downtime event ends, our outbound interface sends patient information as well as all documents captured during the downtime event back out to your EHR and/or downstream systems, making recovery more efficient and eliminating mounds of paperwork.

Additionally, paper notes are eliminated for nurse rounding and the information is stored electronically. As such, a true rapid recovery can be realized when the downtime event is over. Using outbound HL7, or a file export, indicates that the data is sent back to Cerner or MEDITECH instantaneously once the network is up and running again. With MEDITECH in particular, dbtech uses a published API spec to send data back to the system for streamlined rapid recovery. These features ensure patient care is uninterrupted and accuracy in data entry is maximized. So, what are some examples of our downtime solution in action?

Don’t Let EHR Downtime Bring Your Care to a Halt

When a downtime event occurs Cerner or MEDITECH  may not be accessible. In this case, hospital staff would switch to the dbtech downtime solution to register patients and view vital patient information such as Census, Medication Reports, and Critical Care access reports. Anything the hospital deems necessary can be made available during downtime events with dbtech. Moreover, dbtech has been working with EPIC, Cerner and MEDITECH hospitals for upwards of 30 years.  In doing so, we’ve developed solutions for Document Management, Workflow Automation, as well as eForms with HL7.

Initially, hospitals using Cerner (as well as pre-merger Siemens hospitals) would send reports straight to our document management solution, Ras. Moreover, hospital staff are enabled to scan patient documents using our document imaging solution, Rasi. Another area where hospitals using Cerner or MEDITECH have benefited from is our eForms solution, which allows for decreased paper use and improving compliance for items such as patient consent. This saves a considerable amount of money as it reduces billing errors and denials.

Today, however, these Ras and eForms solutions have combined forces to produce our comprehensive EHR Downtime Solution.  Hospitals can use their respective EHR and staff can still register patients as the downtime system does the heavy lifting in the background. When scheduled maintenance occurs, the dbtech Downtime Solution allows clinicians to view and access the latest patient information. Clinicians can also  record updates electronically that are then sent back to Cerner or MEDITECH when the downtime event is over.

dbtech: Keeping your hospital up and running, even when a Downtime disaster strikes

At dbtech, we understand how critical it is for  hospitals  to keep patient information safe and secure during a downtime event. That’s why our EHR Downtime Solution is designed to not only provide downtime protection but also integrate seamlessly with Cerner or MEDITECH solutions. In addition, dbtech’s solutions help Cerner and MEDITECH hospitals eliminate paper forms usage as well as streamline data entry processes, improving accuracy and boosting compliance. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our downtime solutions. 

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