McLaren Health Care confirmed the Aug. 6 IT disruption was the result of a "criminal cyberattack," and the health system is continuing to restore its IT and phone systems.
The Grand Blanc, Mich.-based health system reverted to downtime procedures after identifying the attack, with several IT systems continuing to operate as the system worked to restore full functionality.
McLaren rescheduled some elective procedures amid the IT outage and asked patients to bring printed records of their orders and lab results. Its emergency departments are still operational and most surgeries are moving forward, along with physician office visits. Some non-emergent appointments and treatments are still being rescheduled, according to an Aug. 7 statement from the system.
It is unclear whether patient or employee data was compromised, and McLaren's team is working with cybersecurity experts to analyze the attack and mitigate the impact.
"McLaren is incredibly grateful and humbled by the response of our team members and medical staff who have pulled together under these difficult circumstances to provide our communities with the care they need. Our team members and medical staffs are displaying unbelievable, heartfelt compassion and camaraderie during this extended downtime. On behalf of our patients and communities, we want to extend a sincere thank you," states the notification on McLaren's website.
McLaren was hit with a ransomware attack last year as well, which exposed 2.2 million patients' information. The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group claimed responsibility for that attack. Multiple lawsuits against the health system were filed after the attack.