How do we make sure our clinical system backup actually works? — answered by Engineer Saeed Baatiah
The right question is not “do we have backups” but “when did you last actually restore from one”. Ask your system vendor to perform a test restore in front of you on a separate environment. Many facilities discover during a crisis that backups stopped months earlier with no notification, or that they cover the database but not attached files and images — which are half the medical record.
Put four specific questions to your system vendor and ask for written answers: when was a test restore last actually performed? Does the backup include attached files and images or only the database? Where is it stored geographically? And how long would a full restore take if the system failed right now? That fourth is the number you need before a crisis rather than during one.
The second question is the most dangerous because its answer surprises many: a backup covering only the database restores patient names, appointments and diagnoses, and restores neither scanned reports nor imaging nor attachments — which in many facilities are half the medical record or more. Restoring half a record is not a restore.
And ask for a test restore performed in front of you on a separate environment at least annually. Facilities that discover their backups stopped months earlier always discover it when they need them — because backup failure is silent by nature and notifies nobody unless an explicit failure alert is configured.
- Ask: when was the last actual test restore?
- Does it include attachments and images, or only the database?
- How long is a full restore if the system failed now?
- Configure a failure alert — backup failure is silent by nature