Minimizing the Impact of an Internet Outage
“What do we do if the internet goes down?” This is a common question with a fairly simple answer: plan on using paper until your access to RevolutionEHR is restored. Reverting to paper records is a workable strategy for continuing to practice until your internet is restored and RevolutionEHR is accessible. Then, you simply enter your temporary paper records to get caught up.
Don’t Panic
One of our customers recently shared with us how they went about dealing with their internet outage; “We planned to use paper if we lost our internet. One day it happened and we didn’t run around like chickens with our heads cut off! The staff remained calm and said, The internet is down, we need to use paper until RevolutionEHR comes back and away we went! When the internet came back, we picked up where we left off.”
Minimize Risk
The trend in internet downtime risk has and will continue to decline as overall reliability of internet connectivity increases worldwide. Even so, there are a few ways you can further minimize your risk of internet downtime:
- Invest in the most reliable internet service available. Resist the temptation to save a few dollars on residential level internet service. Better to choose a commercial level cable or DSL internet plan for your practice.
- Consider installing a backup internet service. You may decide it is worth adding a secondary basic internet package from another carrier in case your primary carrier exhibits connection problems.
- Consider MiFi. Several cellular phone services offer affordable MiFi devices that provide wireless internet through their cellular networks. MiFi can be a good strategy to cover the unlikely event of an extended internet outage.
Summary
With a complete web-based system like RevolutionEHR, your risk of downtime is already lower when compared to traditional in-house, server-based systems because all you need is an internet connection. Minimizing internet outage risks and planning to use paper in the event of an outage will help you continue to practice with minimal disruption to your overall practice while enjoying the benefits of RevolutionEHR.