If you’ve managed a medical practice in Central Florida for more than a year, you already know the drill: hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and somewhere along the I-4 corridor between Tampa, Orlando, and Lakeland, a storm is going to cause problems.
You probably have a plan for patient rescheduling. You know where the flashlights and bottled water are. Your building manager has talked about shutters or impact windows.
But here’s the question that catches most medical offices off guard: what happens to your IT systems when the power goes out, the internet drops, or the building floods?
Patient records, billing data, appointment schedules, insurance authorizations, prescription histories — everything your practice needs to function lives on computers and servers. If you lose that data, you don’t just lose files. You lose the ability to operate.
This guide walks you through the IT preparation steps every Central Florida medical practice should take before hurricane season starts — and a post-storm recovery checklist for getting back online when the weather clears.
Start Before June: The Pre-Hurricane IT Checklist
The best time to prepare your IT infrastructure for hurricane season is during the spring — before the first named storm forms. These aren’t last-minute tasks. They require testing, vendor coordination, and in some cases, purchasing new equipment.
1. Verify Your Backup Systems — Then Test Them
Having a backup system is not the same as having a working backup. Many medical practices discover — after a disaster — that their backups were incomplete, corrupted, or hadn’t been running for months.
What to do:
- Confirm what’s being backed up. Is it everything? Your EHR database, billing records, scanned documents, practice management data, email archives? Or just some of it? Ask your IT provider for a complete list of what’s included in your cloud backup
- Check where backups are stored. If your only backup is on a hard drive sitting next to your server in the office, a flood or power surge could take out both. Backups should be replicated to a geographically separate location — ideally a cloud data center outside the hurricane strike zone
- Test a full restore. This is the step almost everyone skips. At least once before hurricane season, have your IT provider perform a test restore of your critical data. Can they actually rebuild your system from the backup? How long does it take? If the answer is “we’ve never tested it,” that’s a problem you want to discover in May, not in the middle of a Cat 3 storm
- Know your RPO and RTO. These are two numbers every office manager should know. RPO (Recovery Point Objective) is how much data you’d lose — if your last backup was 24 hours ago, you lose a day of work. RTO (Recovery Time Objective) is how long it takes to get back up and running. For a medical practice, a good target is RPO of 1 hour and RTO of 4 hours
2. Test Your Disaster Recovery Plan
A disaster recovery plan is a document that describes exactly how your practice will get its IT systems back online after a major disruption. If you don’t have one, your managed IT provider should create one with you. If you do have one, it’s time to test it.
Your disaster recovery plan should answer:
- Who is responsible for what? (Your office manager, your IT provider, your EHR vendor — who does each person call?)
- What are the contact numbers for all IT vendors, internet providers, and equipment suppliers?
- In what order do systems get restored? (EHR first? Email? Phone system?)
- Can your practice operate with paper processes temporarily? Do you have printed patient schedules and paper intake forms ready?
- Is there an alternate location where the practice can operate if the primary office is inaccessible?
Run a tabletop exercise. Gather your key staff in a room and walk through a scenario: “It’s Thursday morning. Hurricane made landfall yesterday. The office has no power, no internet, and we can’t access the building. What do we do?” Walk through each step of the plan and identify gaps. This exercise typically takes 60-90 minutes and reveals problems you’d never find by just reading the plan on paper.
3. Check Your UPS Batteries
A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is a battery backup that keeps your critical equipment running during a power outage — not indefinitely, but long enough to shut things down properly. If the power flickers during a storm (and it will), a UPS prevents your server from crashing mid-write, which can corrupt your EHR database.
What to check:
- Are your server, network switches, firewall, and internet modem on a UPS? All of these should be. If only your server has one, the server stays on but can’t communicate with anything — which isn’t helpful
- When were the batteries last replaced? UPS batteries typically last 3-5 years. If yours are older, they may only provide 2 minutes of runtime instead of 15-20. Replace them before hurricane season
- Run a battery test. Most UPS units have a self-test function. Your IT provider can run this and tell you the estimated runtime at current load
- Verify that the UPS is configured for automatic, graceful shutdown. When the battery runs low, the UPS should signal the server to shut down cleanly — not just cut power when the battery dies. This requires software configuration that many practices never set up
4. Evaluate Generator Readiness for Your Server Room
If your practice has an on-premise server — and many in Central Florida still do — a prolonged power outage means your server is offline and your EHR, billing, and scheduling systems are down. Even cloud-based systems need local internet equipment and workstations to access them.
Generator considerations:
- Does your building have a generator? If so, does it cover the electrical circuit that powers your server room/closet, network equipment, and at least a few workstations?
- When was the generator last serviced? Annual maintenance should include a full-load test. A generator that hasn’t been tested may not start when you need it
- How much fuel do you have? After a major hurricane, fuel deliveries can be delayed for days. Know how many hours of runtime your generator provides and plan fuel reserves accordingly
- If you don’t have a generator, consider at minimum a portable generator large enough to power your server, network equipment, and a few workstations. Your IT provider can calculate the wattage requirements
5. Ensure Data Replication to an Offsite Location
Backup is one thing — replication is another. Backup creates copies of your data at scheduled intervals (every hour, every 4 hours, every day). Replication mirrors your data in real time to a second location, so if your primary site goes down, the secondary site has everything up to the moment of failure.
For hurricane preparedness:
- Cloud-based EHR systems (athenahealth, Practice Fusion, etc.) handle this for you — your data lives in their data centers, which are typically in multiple geographic locations with their own disaster recovery. Confirm this with your vendor
- On-premise EHR systems (server-based eClinicalWorks, for example) are your responsibility. Your IT provider should be replicating your database to a cloud environment or a data center outside the Florida hurricane zone
- Practice documents, scanned records, and administrative files should be synced to a cloud platform like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which provides built-in geographic redundancy
6. Build a Staff Communication Plan
When a hurricane hits, your normal communication channels may not work. The office phone system is down. Email might be inaccessible. Even cell service can be spotty after a major storm.
Your IT-related communication plan should include:
- A phone tree or text chain with personal cell numbers for all staff — stored in a format that works without internet (printed, saved in phones as contacts)
- An emergency contact for your IT provider — not just the main office number, but a direct line or cell number for urgent situations
- Pre-written templates for patient communication — voicemail greetings, website announcements, social media posts explaining that the practice is closed due to the storm and when you expect to reopen
- A designated person responsible for updating the practice website, voicemail, and social media pages. Make sure this person can access these systems from a personal device at home
7. Document Your IT Assets for Insurance
If the storm damages your IT equipment — servers, workstations, network gear, phone systems — you’ll need documentation for your insurance claim. After the storm is not the time to try to remember what you had.
Before hurricane season:
- Create an IT asset inventory. List every piece of IT equipment: make, model, serial number, purchase date, and purchase price. Include servers, workstations, monitors, printers, network switches, firewalls, UPS units, phone system hardware, and any medical devices connected to your network
- Take photos or video. Walk through your server room/closet and every workstation area, capturing clear images of all equipment. Store these photos in the cloud — not on a computer in the office
- Save receipts and invoices. Digital copies of purchase invoices for all IT equipment should be stored in the cloud or with your accountant
- Review your insurance policy. Does your business insurance cover IT equipment replacement? At current replacement cost or depreciated value? Is there a sublimit on electronic equipment? Know the answers before you need to file a claim
When a Storm Is 72 Hours Away: Last-Minute IT Steps
When the forecast turns serious and a hurricane is tracking toward the I-4 corridor, you have roughly 72 hours to finalize your IT preparations.
72 Hours Out
- Run a manual full backup of all systems and verify it completed successfully
- Confirm that your offsite/cloud backup is current and accessible
- Contact your IT provider and confirm they’re ready to support you through and after the storm
- Test your generator (if applicable)
48 Hours Out
- Print critical information: patient schedule for the next 2 weeks, staff contact list, vendor contact list, insurance policy numbers
- If you have an on-premise server, verify the UPS is fully charged and functioning
- Update your practice voicemail and website with storm-related information
- Ensure all staff know the communication plan and have the phone tree/text chain ready
24 Hours Out
- Shut down and unplug non-essential equipment (workstations, printers, monitors). Power surges during storms are a major cause of equipment damage
- If flooding is a risk, elevate any equipment that’s on or near the floor — especially servers, UPS units, and network equipment
- Run one final backup
- Ensure the server room door is closed and sealed (water intrusion from roof leaks or broken windows can damage equipment in adjacent rooms)
- If your practice uses network security monitoring, confirm that your IT provider’s monitoring will continue even if your local equipment goes offline
Post-Storm Recovery Checklist: Getting Back Online
The storm has passed. Roads are clearing. You’re heading back to the office. Here’s the order of operations for getting your IT systems back online safely.
- Inspect before powering up. Check for water damage, visible equipment damage, broken windows near equipment, and any signs of roof leaks in the server room. Do NOT turn on equipment that may have gotten wet
- Check power stability. Is the grid power back on, or are you running on generator? Power fluctuations after a storm can damage equipment. Make sure everything runs through a surge protector or UPS before turning it on
- Power on network equipment first. Turn on the internet modem, firewall, and switches in that order. Wait 5 minutes between each device for everything to establish connections
- Power on the server. If you have an on-premise server, bring it up next and verify that all services start correctly. Your IT provider should be on the phone or remotely connected to verify
- Test internet connectivity. If internet service isn’t back yet, contact your ISP for an estimated restoration time. This is where a backup internet connection (a cellular hotspot or secondary ISP) can keep you operational
- Verify EHR access. Log into the EHR from one workstation and confirm data is intact and current. Check the most recent records to verify nothing was lost
- Power on workstations one at a time. Don’t turn everything on at once. Bring up one workstation, confirm it connects to the network and the EHR, then move to the next
- Test phones. Verify your phone system (VoIP or traditional) is working. If you use VoIP phones, they depend on the internet — if the internet is slow, call quality will suffer
- Test backup systems. Confirm that scheduled backups have resumed and are running normally
- Document any damage. Take photos of any damaged equipment for your insurance claim. Save these photos in the cloud immediately
Lessons from Recent Florida Hurricanes
Central Florida medical practices learned hard lessons from recent hurricane seasons. Here’s what came up again and again:
- Internet takes longer to restore than power. Many practices had electricity back within 2-3 days but waited 7-10 days for stable internet. If your EHR is cloud-based, no internet means no patient records. A cellular hotspot or backup internet connection is worth the investment
- On-premise servers in ground-floor closets flood. Even minor flooding can destroy a server on the floor. Elevate equipment at least 18 inches off the floor if you’re in a flood-prone area
- Staff who can’t get to the office need remote access. Practices that had VPN and remote desktop capabilities were able to resume basic operations with staff working from home, even while the office was inaccessible. This requires planning, not something you set up the night before a storm
- Paper processes need to be ready. For the period between when the office opens and when IT systems are fully operational, you need paper intake forms, paper schedules, and a plan for entering that data back into the EHR once systems are restored
- Insurance claims take documentation. Practices that had detailed IT asset inventories with photos and receipts had their claims processed faster. Those without documentation fought for months to get equipment replaced
The Cost of Not Preparing
Here’s the math that should motivate you to take this seriously:
- Average cost of a single day of downtime for a medical practice: $10,000-$30,000 in lost revenue, depending on practice size
- Average cost of server replacement (hardware, software, configuration, data restoration): $15,000-$50,000
- HIPAA penalties for failing to have a disaster recovery plan: up to $50,000 per violation category
- Cost of proper hurricane IT preparation: Often nothing beyond what you should already be paying for managed IT services, cloud backup, and standard equipment maintenance
The gap between “prepared” and “not prepared” is enormous — and the preparation cost is relatively small.
Get Your Practice Hurricane-Ready Before June
If you’re reading this and feeling uncertain about your practice’s IT readiness for hurricane season, you’re not alone. Most medical practices along the I-4 corridor — from Tampa through Lakeland to Orlando — have some preparation in place but haven’t tested it, documented it, or addressed the gaps.
iTech Plus provides comprehensive hurricane IT preparedness assessments for medical practices across Central Florida. We’ll review your backup systems, test your disaster recovery plan, audit your hardware, and make sure that when the next storm comes, your patient data is protected and your practice can recover quickly.
Schedule your free hurricane readiness IT assessment or call (321) 221-7117 before June — because the time to prepare is before you need it.
