INFORMATICS
When Systems Fail: Building Resilient Laboratory Informatics Through Comprehensive COOP Planning
By Christina Egan, PhD, deputy director, Division of Infectious Diseases and chief, Biodefense and Mycology laboratories, New York State Department of Health-Wadsworth Center; Hugh Peeples, MLS( ASCP), clinical application coordinator, Tennessee Department of Health Division of Laboratory Services; and Sean Hannigan, specialist, Informatics
When the network goes down, how will your laboratory ' s informatics systems keep running? This question took on urgent importance for Tennessee Department of Health Division of Laboratory Services’ newborn screening program on Christmas Day 2020, when a car bomb devastated downtown Nashville ' s AT & T service building, bringing down communications and network access across the region.
The explosion rendered the state laboratory ' s internet infrastructure nonfunctional, creating an unprecedented crisis. Without connectivity, the laboratory information management systems( LIMS) became inoperable, preventing laboratory staff from processing or analyzing any newborn screening samples. For a program that detects potentially life-threatening conditions requiring immediate intervention, the network outage created an urgent public health emergency.
The Single Point of Failure
Tennessee ' s experience revealed a critical vulnerability: AT & T served as both the primary and backup internet provider for the state laboratory, creating a single point of failure. When the service went down, there was no redundancy to fall back on. Initial attempts to restore connectivity through portable Wi-Fi hotspots, point-to-point Wi-Fi connections and emergency internet service provider( ISP) contracts all proved too slow or uncertain for immediate need.
As the outage continued, laboratory leadership recognized that temporary connectivity solutions would not be sufficient. This prompted activation of their continuity of operations plan( COOP), involving an interstate partnership with the Florida Department of Health Bureau of Public Health Laboratories.
Interstate Collaboration in Action
Hugh Peeples, clinical application coordinator from the Tennessee Department of Health Division of Lab Services, advised the laboratory ' s response to the crisis. The COOP
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