A decade ago, an internet outage meant people could not browse the web or send email. Today, many care facilities run their electronic health record, phones, eFax, scheduling and even door access over the internet. When the connection fails, the impact reaches the bedside. Yet many facilities still depend on a single circuit from a single provider.
Redundancy does not mean doubling every cost. It means choosing a backup that matches how much an outage would hurt.
Ask what stops working when the internet goes down:
Cloud EHR such as PointClickCare and e-prescribing
VoIP phones and nurse-call integrations
eFax and email
Cloud-managed Wi-Fi and security cameras
Telehealth visits
Payroll, billing and payer portals
Then ask how long you can tolerate the outage. Your answers help decide how much redundancy is worthwhile.
Typically offers the most reliable and symmetric speeds, but availability varies, especially in rural areas of Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, and installation can take time.
Widely available and affordable. Speeds can be strong, but upload speed is often lower, and shared neighborhood infrastructure can affect performance.
Delivered by a nearby tower to an antenna on your building. Useful where wired options are limited. Performance depends on line of sight, weather and tower capacity.
Slower but sometimes available as a low-cost backup in places with limited choices.
Fast to deploy and independent of local wired infrastructure. Good as a failover, though speeds, data limits and cost vary by carrier and coverage.
Can be a last resort in remote areas, though latency may affect voice and some applications.
Two connections only help if they do not fail together. Ask:
Are they from different providers?
Do they use different physical paths into the building, or does one provider simply resell the other's network?
Do they enter through different conduits? A single backhoe cutting one trench can take out both.
Do they rely on the same power source or the same equipment in the building?
A business-grade firewall or router with dual WAN support monitors both connections and automatically switches to the backup when the primary fails. Good setups also:
Check actual internet reachability, not just whether the link light is on
Switch back when the primary returns
Prioritize critical traffic, such as EHR and voice, over guest Wi-Fi when the backup is slower
Send alerts so IT knows a failover occurred
If your phone system is cloud-based, make sure it can fail over as well, and ask the provider how calls are rerouted during an outage.
A backup does not have to match the primary speed, but it should support critical workflows. Estimate how many staff use cloud systems at once, whether voice runs over it, and whether guest traffic should be throttled or blocked during failover.
Redundant circuits are worthless if the modem and firewall lose power. Put network equipment on uninterruptible power supplies and, where appropriate, on generator-backed circuits. Check that the demarcation equipment and cell antennas are included.
Compare monthly cost, installation fees, contract length and data caps. Ask about service level agreements and repair commitments. Also check whether business-class service includes priority repair, since residential-grade plans may not.
Schedule a test, during a safe window, where you disconnect the primary connection and verify that the backup takes over, phones work and the EHR remains usable. Document the results. Test at least annually and after changes.
If the EHR is cloud-based: A backup connection is likely worth the cost.
If rural wired options are limited: Consider fixed wireless or cellular as one leg.
If you have only one provider available: Pair it with cellular failover.
If you have multiple options: Choose different providers and physical paths.
UnityCare IT helps care organizations evaluate connection options, configure failover and test it. If your facility depends on a single circuit, we can review your options and costs with you.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
New customers: start@unitycareit.com
Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: 2524 N Broadway Ste 554 PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034