By Jeff Wardon, Jr., Assistant Editor

Critical systems within healthcare facilities must be kept running around the clock to ensure continued patient care. However, these systems aren’t perfect or fool-proof and failures can occur. Recently, an IT outage Watsonville Community Hospital in Watsonville, California, experienced took its internet and electronic systems offline for several days. 

The hospital is investigating the outage’s cause, with third-party IT specialists trying to determine if it was a cyberattack, Lookout Santa Cruz reports. Staff implemented “downtime protocols,” a familiar procedure used during IT maintenance, to ensure continued patient care. This entailed having the staff switch over to using paper-based records instead of electronic ones. Despite the disruption, emergency room, inpatient and outpatient services remain unaffected. 

Related: UMC Health System Grapples with IT Outage from Ransomware Attack

An IT outage creates issues for a healthcare facility’s ability to operate smoothly and provide continuing care for patients. These outages can be caused by cyberattacks, software bugs or human error. No matter the cause, healthcare facilities must plan for these scenarios so they can safely ride them out. 

Dbtech recommends these actions to weather through an IT outage: 

• Create a downtime plan: Start by creating thorough protocols that account for all critical systems, and they should detail steps to take when systems are inaccessible. Train staff regularly to get them familiar with the downtime procedures. 
• Ensure continuity of patient care: Making sure there is uninterrupted care is crucial during downtime scenarios. Give staff the skills they need to execute critical duties manually. This helps ensure continual care procedures even when electronic systems are down. Also, make sure to have backup power solutions for critical devices and systems. 

Jeff Wardon, Jr., is the assistant editor for the facilities market.