Hospitals and doctors offices are busy places. When computer systems are used in the delivery of patient care, any unreliability or lapse in availability is a serious problem. There are always backup procedures (such as paper records), but they are just that: a backup. Looking at it a different way, the electronic health record (EHR) must never be a hindrance to the health care professional. In a recent post, I discussed how systems that are time consuming or difficult to use can cause problems rather than solve them. But if a system is unavailable when it is needed, or if it fails to work correctly, it is most certainly getting in the practitioner’s way! Worse, unreliability can lead to errors, and can be a…