An HIS outage isn't a question of "if" — it's "when." Whether it's a power cut, a network issue, or a bad update, what actually decides how bad the impact is is the fallback plan prepared ahead of time.
1. Know it's down immediately — not when patients are already queuing
An automated health check should alert the system owner the moment connectivity drops, instead of waiting for a nurse to call it in.
2. Paper fallback forms ready to grab immediately
Print and stage them in advance in an easy-to-reach spot — not stored as a file on the computer that's currently unreachable.
3. Know exactly which work can never stop, even during an outage
Emergency medication dispensing and the ER need their own rehearsed fallback steps, not something improvised on the spot.
4. Back-enter everything the moment the system returns
Assign an owner to key paper records back into the system and check every single one off before closing the incident — nothing left behind.
5. Write up what happened, every time
Record the cause, how long it lasted, and where the fallback plan didn't run smoothly — so it improves before the next occurrence.
