The continued adoption of electronic medical records, PACS and other health information, systems are becoming an increasingly integral part of the delivery of patient care. With vital patient information residing in electronic health records and images, tolerance for system downtime is approaching zero. In addition, if patient data is lost or corrupted, HIPAA and JCAHO data integrity and data protection requirements could be at risk.

Whether you're a local community hospital or national health network, this paper outlines seven key tips that every healthcare organization should consider to protect the availability of healthcare information systems. From reducing human error, to understanding the key differences between high availability and disaster recovery, to selecting the right hardware and storage components, this paper provides an overview of the key steps necessary to ensure the availability and integrity of your healthcare information systems.