After reviewing the best practices, I determined they are all good, so
this decision was tough. In the end, I believe that ensuring that utility
shutdowns are properly planned and clearly communicated to be
something of utmost importance, especially in a hospital setting.
Hospitals rely heavily on systems being up and running to properly
care for patients, and any disruption in those systems, especially
unplanned, can be catastrophic. For example, "a power disruption to
emergency backup systems would pose serious jeopardy to intensive
care units and any critical patient procedures underway" (Chobot,
2020). Hospitals provide many life saving services, and any
disruptions in these services (i.e oxygen, blood transfusions,
operations) can quite literally mean life or death. Laboratories in the
hospital setting are reported to have a delay in critical result reporting
by as much as 62% during a hospital downtime; laboratories are
almost all electronic (Larsen et al., 2019). Delays in test results mean a
delay in care, which again, can result in patient harm or even death.
Planned downtime(s) have a less significant effect, and should be
communicated properly to all staff. I work in a local hospital, and we
get a couple weeks notice and plenty of reminders prior that a
downtime is planned. They usually only last a couple hours, but even
in those couple hours a planned downtime still effects the hospital
and its care; I can't imagine the effects of an unplanned one.
References
Chobot, B. C. (2020, June 18). Keeping patients safe in major hospital
renovations and expansions - Renovations. Healthcare Facilities Today.
https://www.healthcarefacilitiestoday.com/posts/Keeping-patients-
safe-in-major-hospital-renovations-and-expansions--22948
Larsen, E., Hoffman, D., Rivera, C., Kleiner, B. M., Wernz, C., &
Ratwani, R. M. (2019). Continuing Patient Care during Electronic
Health Record Downtime. Applied Clinical Informatics, 10(03), 495–
504. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-1692678
