Chicago: A major nonprofit health system with 140 hospitals in 21 states, CommonSpirit Healthis reporting an “IT security issue” that has disrupted operations in multiple states.
A company spokesman would not elaborate on the nature of the clarification cyber attackSuch as whether an organization’s IT network was hit by ransomware.
The Des Moines Register said the incident happened Monday and forced an ambulance to be diverted from the emergency department at the city’s Mercy One Medical Center to other medical facilities. CHI Memorial Hospital is among the affected facilities, Chattanooga reported.
In a statement Tuesday, CommonSpirit said it had taken “certain IT systems offline,” including electronic health records, as a precaution and rescheduled some patient appointments. He would not say whether patient records were accessed. Nor did it state when the breach of clarity was noticed.
The Chicago company, formed in 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health, serves 20 million Americans from coast-to-coast with more than 1,000 care sites.
Health care is classified as one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors by the US government, and health care providers are seen as a perfect target for hackers.
If patient data is accessed, health care providers are required by law to be notified Department of Health and Human Services.
