Ascension’s electronic health record (EHR) access has finally been restored after being crippled by a cyberattack for more than a month. Patients should notice improvements in appointment scheduling, wait times for appointments, and prescription fulfillment. However, medical records and other information collected between May 8 and the restoration date may still be temporarily inaccessible. Portal messages may also experience delays as the system continues to recover.
Despite the restoration, Ascension is still working to bring back additional systems that were affected by the ransomware attack. The hospital system is also investigating how the attack occurred and working to prevent future incidents. According to Ascension, the attack was the result of an employee mistake where a malicious file was inadvertently downloaded, causing significant disruptions throughout the health system.
The cyberattack created challenges for doctors and nurses who struggled to provide timely care in the emergency room as they were unable to access patient files. Ascension’s efforts to restore systems and investigate the ransomware attack aim to prevent similar incidents in the future and ensure the security and integrity of patient information.