Jacksonville, Florida – According to an Ascension spokesperson, several systems are currently unavailable due to a “cybersecurity incident” confirmed at Ascension Hospital.
Ascension, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the United States, detected unusual activity on its network systems on Tuesday.
Officials said the systems that are no longer available include the electronic medical records system, MyChart (which allows patients to view their medical records and communicate with health care providers), some phone systems and certain It said it would include other systems used to order tests, treatments and medicines.
Additionally, “out of an abundance of caution,” some non-emergency elective procedures, tests and appointments have been temporarily suspended as experts work to restore the system.
“Our team works directly with patients who need to reschedule appointments or procedures. We understand the frustration this can cause and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our patients. We sincerely regret any inconvenience caused,” an Ascension spokesperson wrote.
Officials said they did not know when all systems would be restored. However, they said they expect this work to “take some time to complete” and will utilize downtime procedures and protocols to provide patient care “for some time.”
Therefore, patients are asked to bring their appointment notes regarding their symptoms and a list of their current medications and prescription numbers or prescription bottles so that their treatment team can contact the pharmacy with their medication needs.
The hospital system is using third-party experts to assist with the investigation and has alerted authorities.
“We are extremely grateful to our care teams across the system for their hard work and dedication and continued commitment to our patients,” an Ascension spokesperson said. “We also thank our patients and community for their continued support and patience during this time as we engage in a time-consuming and diligent process to restore our systems as quickly and safely as possible. We will continue to post updates on our website as they become available to ensure all patients, staff and stakeholders are informed during this event.”
Healthcare providers across the United States have been hit by numerous ransomware attacks in recent years, some of which have disrupted patient care and cost healthcare providers millions, if not billions of dollars. Some have given.
Ascension is a health system that includes 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states, including multiple locations around Northeast Florida.
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