Healthcare CIOs - It's Time To Build Your Disaster Recovery MVP

Forbes

30-04-2025

(Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Cybersecurity attacks in healthcare have made headlines again over the past few weeks, highlighting just how vulnerable critical systems still are. While many organizations talk about running tabletop exercises to prepare for incidents, there's another essential angle that healthcare CIOs should focus on: building a minimal viable product (MVP) to keep core operations running during an outage. It's not just about planning. It's about having something ready to use when systems go down.
A Disaster Recovery MVP will include critical systems scaled down to their essential functions to keep operations running during a crisis. Unlike full-scale backup environments, which are often complex and expensive, an MVP focuses on speed, simplicity, and effectiveness. The goal is to get the organization back to a minimal, yet safe and stable, level of function as quickly as possible. Most healthcare organizations don't have an MVP but rely heavily on downtime procedures. Organizations need a reliable downtime procedure and a ready-to-deploy MVP to prepare for outages.
Healthcare CIOs should prioritize clinical and communication systems when building a disaster recovery MVP. Start by focusing on lightweight EMR solutions that mimic the core functions of your backup environment. If you host your EMR off-site, you must set up an on-premise environment that provides more than just patient lookup. Empower clinicians with the ability to document electronically during an outage rather than relying on downtime forms documentation. Most staff don't know how to document on paper or understand the manual processes, often leading to delays and increased financial strain.
Communication systems, such as the telephone system, also need serious attention. Redundancy in telephone systems and unified communications is essential. I recommend implementing redundancy of UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) to ensure critical communication lines remain open. More CIOs are actively requesting UCaaS backups as part of their disaster recovery plans, and it's quickly becoming a non-negotiable part of modern healthcare continuity strategies.
The MVP approach shifts the mindset from 'everything must be restored' to 'what's good enough to keep going.' Traditional disaster recovery plans aim to bring back full systems, often leading to high costs, long downtimes, and unnecessary complexity. The MVP model cuts through that by focusing only on the essential systems needed to maintain operations.
By using an MVP, healthcare organizations can continue delivering patient care and keeping revenue flowing rather than relying on manual, paper-based processes that slow everything down. This approach allows teams to adapt as crises unfold because the core business stays functional. In high-pressure situations, aiming for perfect recovery can stall action—the MVP mindset recognizes that 'good enough' is often what keeps the doors open.
Healthcare CIOs must start thinking like product owners, not just commercial technology buyers. When organizations rely on SaaS products and shift accountability to vendors during outages, they miss the opportunity to lead recovery efforts. CIOs who take ownership and apply the MVP approach to disaster recovery put their organizations in a stronger position when disruption hits. In today's environment, every second of downtime erodes trust and costs money. CIOs who build smart, strategic MVPs in advance drive real resilience and ensure patient care keeps moving when it matters most.