Ascension restores access to electronic health records after cyberattack

More than a month after a massive ransomware attack on Ascension’s systems, the health care company announced on Friday that access to electronic health records has been restored. In a statement posted on Ascension’s website, they expressed that this was a significant milestone in their journey toward full recovery. While the EHR systems have been restored, records collected between May 8 and the date of the local restoration may be temporarily inaccessible as they continue to update the portal. Patients can contact their clinician’s office for record availability during that time period. Ascension mentioned that remediation of additional systems is ongoing and the investigation into the cyberattack continues.

The cyberattack impacted Ascension hospitals across the U.S., including the six hospitals in metro Detroit. During the recovery process, all of these hospitals had to resort to using pen and paper, leading to increased wait times for patients.

According to the health care system, the cyberattack began with an unintentional mistake made by an employee who downloaded a malicious file that they believed was legitimate. This error allowed the hackers access to the Ascension system. The company’s investigation revealed that attackers obtained a small number of files from servers primarily used for daily tasks, which might have contained sensitive health and personal data of some individuals.

Ascension has stated that they will notify those affected when they have completed their analysis of the data. They are also offering free credit monitoring and identity protection services to patients. Those interested in utilizing these services can contact Ascension at 1-888-498-8066.