Cerner is one of the most widely deployed electronic health record systems in the United States, serving hundreds of hospitals and health systems. But even Cerner is not immune to downtime. Scheduled maintenance windows, unexpected outages, network failures, and cybersecurity incidents can all take Cerner offline, leaving clinical and administrative staff without access to the tools they depend on.
When Cerner goes down, what happens next depends entirely on whether your organization has a dedicated downtime solution in place. dbtech has built its downtime platform to integrate directly with Cerner, ensuring that your teams can keep working with accurate, up-to-date patient data, even when the EHR is unavailable.
The Challenge of Cerner Downtime
Cerner downtime events, whether planned or unplanned, create immediate operational gaps:
- Clinicians lose access to the medication administration record (MAR)
- Registration teams cannot look up existing patients or create new encounters
- Forms, consents, and labels tied to Cerner workflows cannot be generated
- Recovery requires manual re-entry of all data collected during the outage
For busy hospitals and health systems, even a two-hour Cerner maintenance window can create hours of catch-up work. An unplanned outage can be far more disruptive.
How dbtech Integrates with Cerner
dbtech’s downtime solution is designed to work alongside Cerner, not just as a backup, but as a fully integrated extension of your existing clinical and administrative infrastructure.
Real-Time Data Sync via HL7
dbtech connects to Cerner using HL7 messaging, the healthcare interoperability standard that allows systems to exchange patient data in real time. As Cerner receives new admissions, updates patient demographics, or modifies clinical records, that information is automatically pushed into dbtech’s downtime solution. When Cerner goes offline, dbtech is not working from a stale snapshot, it is working from a continuously refreshed copy of your patient data.
Access to Census and MAR During Outages
One of the most critical capabilities during a Cerner downtime is access to the current patient census and medication administration records. dbtech provides clinical staff with a read-accessible view of this information during network and EHR outages, enabling nurses and physicians to continue care delivery safely.
Electronic Registration Without Cerner
With dbtech, registration teams do not need to fall back on paper when Cerner is unavailable. Staff can electronically register new patients using dbtech’s downtime encounter numbers, scan insurance cards and identification documents directly into the system, and generate barcoded wristbands and labels, all without Cerner access.
eForms That Work Independently of Cerner
dbtech’s eForms solution integrates with Cerner under normal conditions, automatically populating forms with patient data from the EHR. During downtime, those same forms remain available for use, independently of Cerner, so clinical documentation, consent capture, and workflow completion can continue without interruption.
Rapid, Electronic Recovery Back into Cerner
When Cerner comes back online, dbtech facilitates an automated recovery process. All data collected during the downtime event, registrations, form completions, scanned documents, and clinical notes, is exported back into Cerner using HL7 and document export protocols. This eliminates the need for manual re-entry, dramatically reduces recovery time, and ensures the accuracy of the permanent medical record.
Why Cerner Customers Choose dbtech
Many Cerner customers initially assume that Cerner’s own downtime procedures are sufficient. dbtech provides a more complete continuity solution than Cerner 724, ensuring that all hospitals, including CommunityWorks, can maintain full operational workflows.
By pairing Cerner with dbtech, healthcare organizations get the best of both worlds: Cerner’s comprehensive EHR capabilities during normal operations, and dbtech’s purpose-built downtime platform when those operations are interrupted.
“Once we added dbtech’s solution, we were able to get so much more out of our investment in Cerner.” — dbtech customer
Use Case: Planned Cerner Maintenance Windows
Planned maintenance is one of the most common forms of Cerner downtime. Hospital IT teams typically schedule these windows late at night or on weekends, but patient care does not stop. Emergency departments, labor and delivery units, and ICUs operate around the clock.
With dbtech in place, clinical and administrative staff can continue normal electronic workflows throughout the maintenance window. Registration proceeds, forms are completed, wristbands are printed, and when Cerner comes back online, all of that data flows back in automatically.
Use Case: Unplanned Cerner Outages
Unplanned outages are inherently unpredictable. They can result from software failures, infrastructure problems, ransomware attacks, or network disruptions that affect connectivity to Cerner’s cloud-hosted environment. In these scenarios, the difference between a five-minute scramble and a five-hour crisis often comes down to whether a downtime solution is in place.
dbtech customers consistently report faster response times, lower staff stress, and better patient experiences during unplanned outages, because their teams already know what to do and have the tools to do it.
Integrate Your Cerner EHR
Cerner is a world-class EHR, but no EHR is immune to downtime. Organizations that pair Cerner with dbtech’s purpose-built downtime solution gain a meaningful operational advantage: continuous access to patient data, uninterrupted electronic workflows, and a fast, accurate path back to full Cerner functionality.
If your organization runs on Cerner and does not yet have a dedicated downtime solution, it is time to close that gap.
Request a Cerner-specific demo at dbtech.com