Electronic Health Records

EHR Downtime

EHR Downtime: What to Do When an IT Disaster Strikes

March 27, 2013 - There are six words you never want to have to say to a frazzled patient who made time in her busy day to squeeze in a check-up at your office: “I’m sorry, our system is down.”  You have patients back to back all day, and you can’t access their appointment schedules, their lab results, or their medical records.  You’ve spent months training your sta...

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EHR systems unavailability for hospitals and physicians represents a  potential patient safety hazard that directly affects patient care. In an event of EHR downtime risks include an increased risk of medication errors, unavailability of images,and canceled procedures. It is crucual that healthacre systems have the proper EHR downtime procedures and policies in place to avoid these risks.

Examples of EHR Downtime

Sutter clinicians deal with unplanned downtime with Epic EHR

EHR Downtime Results from Ransomware Attacks at CA, IN Hospitals

 

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Canada Hospital Enters EHR Downtime After Discovering Computer Virus

by Kate Monica

Health Sciences North (HSN) and 20 other hospitals across Ontario, Canada recently entered into a period of EHR downtime following the discovery of a computer virus affecting the hospitals’ MEDITECH EHR system. HSN officials...

Banner Health Recovered From EHR Downtime Following Network Outage

by Kate Monica

Banner Health recently recovered from a computer outage resulting in a sustained period of EHR downtime. A nationwide outage affecting Verizon Wireless and CenturyLink impacted Banner Health’s internet and phone...

Ransomware Attack Prompts Ohio Hospitals to Enter EHR Downtime

by Kate Monica

East Ohio Regional Hospital (EORH) and Ohio Valley Medical Center (OVMC) have voluntarily initiated a period of EHR downtime after a ransomware attack hit the hospital’s network on Friday, November 23. The hospitals are diverting...

How to Optimize EHR Downtime Preparedness, Reduce Slowdowns

by Kate Monica

With EHR use now nearly ubiquitous across healthcare organizations, the prospect of a sudden, sustained period of EHR downtime disrupting hospital operations has crept to the forefront of industry concerns.  In 2018, several...

Cass Regional MEDITECH EHR Back Online After Week of EHR Downtime

by Kate Monica

Cass Regional Medical Center recently came back online with its MEDITECH EHR system for the first time since a July 9 ransomware attack prompted hospital leadership to shut down its health IT infrastructure for a sustained period of EHR...

EHR Downtime Drives TN Hospital to Invest in Backup System

by Kate Monica

Tennessee-based Blount Memorial Hospital is investing $30,000 in a backup system for its physicians group after a three-day episode of EHR downtime shut down its network in early May. The system-wide outage affected nearly 90 physicians...

System-wide Epic EHR Downtime Affects 24 Sutter Health Hospitals

by Kate Monica

Sutter Health is in a period of EHR downtime affecting its Epic EHR and all internal communications across its 24 hospitals, according to The Press Democrat.  The system-wide network outage occurred at about 10:30 PM on May 14. The...

Allina Health Recovers From System-Wide Stint of EHR Downtime

by Kate Monica

Minnesota’s Allina Health has successfully recovered from a period of EHR downtime that compromised its Epic EHR system on April 4, according to a report from CBS Minnesota. The health system’s computer network went down on...

Allscripts Recovering From EHR Downtime After Ransomware Attack

by Kate Monica

Allscripts is still working to fully recover from a period of EHR downtime brought on by a ransomware attack targeting its cloud-based EHR and electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) systems less than a week ago. The...

Jones Memorial Recovers From EHR Downtime Due to Cyberattack

by Kate Monica

Jones Memorial Hospital (JMH) officials recently announced its systems are back online after a period of EHR downtime lasting about two weeks. A cyberattack at the Wellsville hospital forced staff to temporarily revert to manually...

Henry Ford Health System Recovers From EHR Downtime Episode

by Kate Monica

Henry Ford Health System in Michigan recently resolved a power outage that resulted in a period of EHR downtime and some minor delays in patient care. “All computer applications affected by today’s power issue at our data...

Cyberattack Leads to MEDITECH EHR Downtime in Western New York

by Kate Monica

A recent cyberattack has led to EHR downtime approaching one week at Jones Memorial Hospital (JMH) in Wellsville, New York. Patient health records and email have been inaccessible to all providers at the hospital, according to a report by...

Virus-related EHR Outage Forces NY Hospital Back to Paper

by Kate Monica

Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) and its long-term care facility at Terrace View have been battling a virus responsible for EHR outage since Sunday afternoon. UPDATE: Some computers have been restored and ECMC is working to bring the...

OIG Tackled EHR Contingency Plans, Payments in 2016

by Sara Heath

Late last week, the Office of Inspector General issued its Semiannual Report to Congress, touching on findings from its EHR contingency plan and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program payment audits from earlier this year. The report, which...

Nearly All Hospitals Have Contingency Plans for EHR Downtime

by Sara Heath

With 59 percent of hospitals experiencing EHR downtime in the past year, the importance of EHR contingency plans comes to the forefront. In a recent report from the Office of the Inspector General, experts explain the need for EHR...

Recent Ransomware Attacks Show Need for EHR Downtime Plans

by Kyle Murphy, PhD

Ransomware attack led heart hospital in Kansas to pay hackers although no instances of EHR downtime are reported, according to Wichita's KWCH. The Kansas Heart Hospital experienced lost access to files last Wednesday evening at 9PM...

EHR Downtime Results from Ransomware Attacks at CA, IN Hospitals

by Sara Heath

Ransomware attacks have been putting hospital technologies out of commission, pushing some healthcare organizations into EHR downtime. The attacks, which involve viruses infecting hospital files, lock users out of IT systems until they...

MedStar Health Working to Fix Malware-Related EHR Downtime

by Kyle Murphy, PhD

The health IT systems at MedStar Health are not completely back online following the EHR downtime caused by a ransomware attack earlier this week, the health system has revealed. In a series of official updates on its website, the health...

Ransomware Leads to EHR Downtime at DC-Area Health System

by Kyle Murphy, PhD

UPDATE: Cerner Corporation has commented on the ransomware attack. Many providers in the Capital Beltway found themselves working with paper records as a result of EHR downtime caused by a ransomware virus on the MedStar Health network,...

EHR Implementation Gaffes Leave Calif. Hospital Cash-Strapped

by Kyle Murphy, PhD

EHR implementation and adoption continue to plague members of the healthcare community in northern California, no matter the make or model of the EHR technology. According to a report in the Contra Costa Times, the Bay Area’s Alameda...

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