A demonstration sequence for hospital software during an outage

Ask the presenter to save one fictional task while the relevant connection is unavailable, then show what happens when it returns. Stay with that task until another authorised user can explain its status. A disconnected screen that still looks normal is only the start of the exercise.

Agree the demonstration setup with the supplier. Use an approved test environment and invented records. Do not interrupt a hospital's live network or create real clinical and financial entries to test a sales claim.

Before disconnecting

Identify the test device, active staff role and record you expect to use. Ask which information was made available on the device beforehand. Note whether internet, local network or both will be unavailable; the distinction affects what the exercise can establish.

Write the expected outcome for an ordinary task. A fictional part payment is useful when billing matters to the purchase, but choose a task within the product's supported scope. Ask what the staff member should do if an action requires connectivity.

During the exercise

Watch the staff member find the intended record and perform the agreed action. Record the visible state of the work and any blocked step. Ask whether a record created on another device would be available in the same conditions.

Do not let a spoken assurance silently fill that gap. Record discussed only where the presenter explains a case without demonstrating it. A missing exercise is an unanswered question, not proof of either capability or failure.

After the connection returns

Follow the original saved task until the product reports its outcome. Ask another authorised user to find it and explain the result. Check what staff should do if the task requires review or remains only on the original device.

AHRQ's workflow toolkit offers background for examining work across handovers. The sequence here is our proposed buying exercise.

In RizCare, saved on this device and accepted by the practice are different states. Do not collapse them into one tick labelled synced during your review.

Use the demo observation sheet to record the conditions and evidence. Ask for a follow-up on any unresolved case before relying on it in the hospital's continuity plan.