The words backup and disaster recovery are often used interchangeably, but they describe different things. A backup is a copy of your data. Disaster recovery is the plan, people and technology needed to get your operations running again after something goes wrong. A facility with good backups but no recovery plan may still be down for weeks. Understanding the difference helps you invest wisely.
A backup preserves data so you can restore it after deletion, corruption, hardware failure or ransomware. It answers the question: do we still have our information?
Backups are essential, but on their own they leave questions unanswered:
Which server do we restore to if the original is destroyed?
In what order do systems come back?
How long will the restore take?
Who performs it, and who approves it?
How do staff work in the meantime?
Disaster recovery, often shortened to DR, covers everything required to restore critical services. A good plan includes:
A list of critical systems and their priority
Target recovery times and acceptable data loss for each
Step-by-step recovery procedures
Alternate hardware or cloud capacity where recovery can happen
Contact lists for staff, vendors, carriers and insurers
Communication plans for staff, residents and families
Testing and regular updates
The HIPAA Security Rule requires a contingency plan with several parts:
A data backup plan, which is required
A disaster recovery plan, which is required
An emergency mode operation plan, which is required
Testing and revision procedures, which are addressable
An applications and data criticality analysis, which is addressable
In short, HIPAA expects both backups and a plan to use them. For long-term care providers, CMS emergency preparedness requirements add another layer, expecting plans that keep essential services running during emergencies.
How much recent data can you afford to lose? A nightly backup means up to a day of changes could be lost.
How long can a system be unavailable before serious harm occurs? Nurse call and the EHR likely have tighter targets than a document archive.
These numbers should be set with input from clinical and administrative leaders, not by IT alone. Cost rises as targets tighten, so decide where the investment matters most.
A simple tiered list helps:
Network core, internet, phones, nurse call integration, EHR access and medication systems.
Email, scheduling, timekeeping, billing and dietary systems.
Archives, secondary applications and convenience tools.
Writing this order down in advance avoids debates during a crisis.
Technology is half of recovery. Plan for:
Paper downtime procedures and forms on every unit
Staff training on those procedures
Alternate communication methods if email and phones fail
A decision-maker with authority to declare a disaster and activate the plan
An untested plan is a hope. Test in layers:
Spot-check backups monthly by restoring sample files.
Run a tabletop exercise once a year, walking leadership through a scenario such as ransomware or a fire in the server room.
Periodically restore a full system in a test environment and time it.
After every test or real incident, update the plan and record changes.
Identify your critical systems and rank them.
Set recovery targets with leadership.
Confirm your backups cover everything on the list, with an isolated copy.
Write the recovery order and procedures in plain language.
Print the plan and store copies offsite.
Schedule your first tabletop exercise.
UnityCare IT builds backup and disaster recovery plans for healthcare and senior living organizations, including testing and documentation that supports HIPAA contingency requirements. If you would like help ranking your systems or running a tabletop exercise, reach out.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: UnityCare Technologies, 2524 N Broadway Ste 554, PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-4172