Do You Have an EHR Emergency Downtime Plan?
When your health system has scheduled downtime or is faced with a weather-related crisis or cyberattack, having a backup plan can mean the difference between disaster and inconvenience.
According to recent reports, ransomware attacks have increased by 102% in 2021, compared to the same period in 2020. For health systems, these attacks can be crippling. But it doesn’t have to be that way—if you make cloud-based solutions an essential part of your downtime planning.
If you don’t have a substitute for your usual electronic prescribing workflow, now is the time to make a plan.
Develop a Downtime Plan
Being prepared with solutions that work reliably outside of your network can help ensure that your patients’ safety isn’t compromised, even if your electronic health record (EHR) system is offline. Here are some key steps to take:
Conduct a SAFER assessment – The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) encourages conducting regular Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience (SAFER) assessments to avoid the potential hazards that come from EHR unavailability and improve the overall safety of your healthcare system.
Consider Cloud-based Options – A secure, mobile e-prescribing solution should be a vital part of your disaster recovery playbook, so patients can still receive the prescriptions they need when your network is down.
Don’t Settle on Paper – If you think reverting to paper is a simple answer, you might want to think again. Not only are paper prescriptions unreliable, but they also come with risks. They lack drug and allergy interaction information, are prone to errors due to manual entry and illegibility of handwriting. They also may not be compliant with your state’s electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS) mandates, and don’t allow access to state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs).
Keep Patients Safe, Even in a Disaster
If you lose access to your EHR, your providers can use iPrescribe to write prescriptions for controlled and legend drugs, check the PDMP database, view medication history, and write prescriptions—all from a mobile device. Learn more about iPrescribe to see how mobile e-prescribing can help when your network is offline due to planned or unexpected events.