Cyberattack disrupts hospitals across several states
Facilities operated by Prospect Medical Holdings were forced to shutter emergency rooms and delay care due to the attack.
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A cyberattack targeted facilities operated across several states by Prospect Medical Holdings, disrupting computer systems and forcing some emergency rooms to shut down and ambulances to be diverted.
John Riggi, the American Hospital Association's national advisory for cybersecurity and risk, told the Associated Press that the recovery process in these instances can sometimes take weeks. In the interim, hospitals have been falling back on paper systems and manual administrative work such as running records between various departments.
Experts are still working to determine the extent of the problem that was reported late last week, according to AP.
Based in California, Prospect Medical Holdings operates hospitals in that state as well as Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. The incident began on Thursday, at which time the company took its systems offline and launched an investigation utilizing third-party cybersecurity specialists.
According to The Guardian, the cyberattack caused emergency departments at Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals to close for much of the day on Thursday, forcing patients to be redirected to other nearby medical facilities.
While emergency departments reopened late Thursday, many primary care services remained closed as of Friday and elective surgeries were suspended, along with outpatient appointments, blood drives and other services.
CBS News reported that the FBI is now involved in the ongoing investigation.
Allan Liska, a ransomware analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, told NBC News that the Prospect hack is the 157th cyberattack on a U.S. healthcare organization this year.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: Jeff.Lagasse@himssmedia.com
