Nurses at Hackensack (N.J.) Meridian Health were forced to use paper records last week, causing delays in care, according to the Asbury Park Press.
"From our members' perspective, it meant they had to revert back to the old system of doing everything by paper, which created complications on the floors and delayed a lot of information they wouldn't have typically had to wait for," Bridget Devan, a spokesperson for the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union, told the Asbury Park Press.
Because of the computer issues, nurses and other clinicians were unable to deliver lab results quickly or obtain accurate information on patients' medications. The computer glitches spanned about two days. As of Dec. 6, the health system was fully operational again.
It's unclear what caused the computer glitches. Hackensack Meridian Health said it was an "externally driven incident."
"We continue to work with outside experts to analyze this disruption in our IT system and will have more information to share once the investigation is complete," a Hackensack Meridian Health spokesperson told the Asbury Park Press. "Our team continues to work diligently around the clock to provide safe and high-quality patient care."
Editor's note: Becker's has reached out to Hackensack Meridian Health for comment and will update the article accordingly.