Ascension expects EHR restoration across its network by June 14

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Ascension, which was hit by a cyberattack that crippled operations at its 140 hospitals, is working towards completing EHR restoration across its entire system by June 14.

The large health system of 140 hospitals gave an update Wednesday to its restoration work since the May 8 ransomware attack that disrupted operations.

"Ascension continues to work expeditiously alongside industry-leading cybersecurity experts in our efforts to safely restore systems across our network," a spokesperson said. 

Hospitals and facilities remain open and are providing patient care.

Ascension had previously reported that restoring Electronic Health Record (EHR) access has been among the top priorities of its recovery process. 

"We are encouraged to report positive developments in these efforts and can announce that we have successfully restored EHR access in our Florida, Alabama and Austin markets," Ascension said.

As EHR is restored across the entirety of its networks, clinicians will be able to access patient records as they did prior to this incident.

"While these are promising developments in our recovery efforts, our investigation into this incident remains ongoing, along with the remediation of additional systems. This is a complex process, and it will still take time to complete," Ascension said.

Additionally, Ascension Rx retail, home delivery and specialty pharmacy sites are now open to fill prescriptions. This means that healthcare providers are able to transmit prescriptions electronically and can send prescriptions to Ascension Rx pharmacies for their patients.

Ascension reported the cyberattack on May 8.

Ascension later confirmed it experienced a ransomware attack that has caused disruptions to patient care in its network. 

The company faces two class action lawsuits. The lawsuits allege that Ascension failed to safeguard personal identifying information and protected health information. Because of the cyberattack, the plaintiffs were unable to effectively communicate with their healthcare providers through the MyChart patient portal or receive the requisite medical care and attention they needed, one complaint said. 

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org