ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some guidance on how to get started, things to consider, and information for creating plans to respond to information technology interruptions. The Business Continuity Plan is the umbrella plan outlining what is needed and when by all hospital departments and personnel, including critical recovery support from the information technology department. The recovery of information technology operations in a disaster is best driven by a separate, but related, Disaster Recovery Plan. A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is the foundation upon which people can build their disaster recovery strategy and perhaps portions of the business continuity plan. An inventory of applications and systems should be created and the BIA project scope will determine which of the applications or systems will be included and their “ownership.” The plan needs to clearly define when a disaster should be declared, as opposed to an emergency or other, lesser disruption.
