Prepare for Downtime Now: Charge RN Checklist, A Paper Chart Ready for Each Patient, and Drills

Abstract Clinicians are dependent on the electronic health record and electronic workflows to provide clinical care. Downtimes are always a threat, but in a time of cyberattacks, downtimes are no longer transient short-term events involving a broken piece of the network. Downtimes may be crime scenes involving multiple levels of law enforcement and may remain unresolved for days or weeks. Nursing units need to prepare through downtime drills; creation of downtime boxes with paper charts for each patient, paper charts for new admits, and additional necessary forms; and clear instructions for using the business continuity computer.