Ascension St Vincent fighting through cyber attack, fixes in progress

TLDR:

• Ascension St. Vincent is working with cybersecurity experts to fix a cyber attack on their electronic records system.
• Patients may experience longer wait times and delays in services.

Weeks after a cyber attack disrupted Ascension St. Vincent’s electronic records system, the hospital chain is working diligently with cybersecurity experts to address the issue, hoping to restore electronic access by the end of next week. Patients have been facing slower service and sporadic issues since May 8, when suspicious activity was detected in the computer systems. As a result, healthcare providers have resorted to traditional methods like filling out forms by hand or dictating over the phone.

While all Indiana hospitals and clinics are operational, they are functioning at a slower pace, prompting patients to bring notes on symptoms and medications for quicker service. Emergency rooms remain open, but EMS may reroute ambulances to other facilities to manage wait times. Nurses in Michigan and Alabama have raised concerns about patient safety and workload due to the shift to paper documentation, leading to calls for additional training and support from the management.

However, some markets like Alabama, Florida, and Austin, Texas have already restored electronic records access, giving hope that other regions will follow suit soon.