Hospitals need to have a comprehensive downtime solution in place to minimize the impact of these events and ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks like HIPAA. Today, we will explore the advantages of downtime solutions for hospitals and how dbtech can help with EHR downtime planning.
Hospital Downtime Planning for Scheduled & Unscheduled Downtime
Why should a hospital use an EHR downtime solution? The answer is simple – to ensure the continuity of operations and patient care, safeguard patient data, and promote staff efficiency. They can prevent delays, ensure safety, and keep denials from happening by collecting required documentation. Hospitals need a backup plan in place that helps during EHR and network outages as well as ransomware attacks.
The unique requirements of each hospital may include data coming in that differs. Some hospitals may want the MAR and TAR to be available during downtime, while others may need to access reports. Clinical documents and nurse rounding notes could also differ by facility. However, since HL7 is used, no custom interface is required.
Why Downtime Solutions for Hospitals Are So Important
The risks of not having a downtime solution include service disruption, financial loss, data insecurity, and regulatory non-compliance. Delays in patient care can lead to:
- High error rates.
- Prolonged recovery from incidents.
- Staff inefficiency.
- Harm to your hospital’s reputation.
A downtime solution ensures operational continuity that allows the hospital functions to run uninterrupted even during system outages, minimizes financial losses, and protects revenue streams. It safeguards the integrity and security of patient data, which is vital for both care and compliance with regulations like HIPAA. The solution eliminates treatment delays and errors, enhancing the quality of patient care.
Finally, a downtime solution allows staff to focus on their core responsibilities instead of manual workarounds, boosting resource efficiency and preserving the hospital’s reputation.
Case in Point: St. Joseph’s Hospital Benefits from dbtech’s Downtime Solution
A hospital downtime solution provider like dbtech can offer hospitals a comprehensive solution that addresses all the possible challenges of a downtime event. For instance, dbtech’s customer, St. Joseph’s Hospital, struggled with recovery in Patient Access and Bed Management after the downtime event ended. Paper-based patient records had several challenges, such as lost records or illegible handwriting, which made it difficult to collect quality data, track patient updates and status transitions, and keep the census balanced.
dbtech’s downtime solution was the perfect fit as everything at St. Joseph’s was view-only, paper-based, or a combination of the two. With dbtech’s downtime solution, users can now enter and edit data, store the data, and export it to an interface engine following the downtime event. In turn, they eliminate manual data entry and paper-based processes.
Moreover, dbtech’s eForms module allows the organization to print bands, labels, and other forms, such as consents, during the downtime event. These forms can be saved into the system during the downtime event and electronically exported to another system to eliminate manual paper processes, saving significant time and effort.
Contact dbtech for Help With EHR Downtime Planning
Downtime solutions for hospitals are critical to ensure operational continuity and enhance the quality of patient care. dbtech can help hospitals with their EHR downtime planning needs and provide comprehensive solutions that safeguard patient data, promote staff efficiency, and ensure compliance. Contact dbtech today to learn more about how their downtime solutions can benefit your hospital.