This paper reviews Ranajee's (2012) article "Best Practices in Healthcare Disaster Recovery Planning," published in Health Management Technology. The review examines the author's argument that disaster recovery planning is increasingly critical as electronic medical records become standard in healthcare. Key topics include the role of HIPAA and the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in mandating preparedness, definitions of disasters in the healthcare context, distinctions between disaster recovery planning and broader business continuity planning, and practical guidance on risk assessments, business impact analyses, and backup facility options such as hot, warm, and cold sites.
As electronic medical records become the norm, healthcare institutions need to maintain backup systems and develop cohesive disaster recovery plans. As Ranajee (2012) states, "downtime is not an option since the data could be critical to patient outcomes" (p. 22). There are several different approaches to emergency preparedness and disaster recovery planning. In "Best Practices in Healthcare Disaster Recovery Planning," Ranajee (2012) shows why disaster recovery planning is more critical now than ever. The author defines different types of disasters and also defines disaster recovery planning from a healthcare perspective in particular. In this succinct article, the author lists types of disaster recovery centers and various options available for the healthcare administrator.
Central to the author's argument is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which legislates security requirements for the healthcare industry. As Ranajee (2012) points out, the "brief" disaster recovery specifications allow for variability in the way disaster recovery planning and emergency preparedness are implemented. Moreover, HIPAA has been variably enforced. In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act "raises the bar" on HIPAA, making disaster recovery planning all but unavoidable on the part of healthcare institutions. These new regulations are meaningful, even though they can be perceived as inconvenient by doctors, administrators, and other providers.
Disasters are defined as any situation — including natural as well as cyber disasters — that threatens valuable healthcare data. Consequences of data loss can mean loss of life, as patient information stored in electronic medical records holds the key to patient outcomes. Even when it is not a matter of life and death, disasters can cause significant financial damage to an institution.
"IT-focused recovery distinct from general preparedness"
"Triage approach to prioritizing data recovery"
"Hot, warm, and cold backup site strategies"
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