Ascension Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest health systems, was hit by a ransomware attack in early May, shutting down pharmacies, forcing ambulances to divert and closing critical systems.
The Catholic health system, which operates 140 hospitals across 19 states and Washington, D.C., is one of the latest healthcare operators to be impacted by a cyberattack, following the major incident at UnitedHealth’s Change Healthcare earlier this year.
Pharmacies in multiple states in Ascension’s portfolio have been forced offline. In some cases, providers are asking patients to pay for prescriptions in cash. In others, clinicians are turning to regional pharmacies by fax or telephone to fill orders. Most say patients could experience delays in services.
Ascension has not given a timeline for when its systems will be fully restored. As the health system begins to bring operations back online, Healthcare Dive will track the latest updates for Ascension’s hospitals by state, including pharmacy operations, emergency rooms statuses and potential care delays.
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