Patients at Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint (Mich.) are experiencing disruptions in care after a cyberattack on the system, ABC affiliate WXYZ reported Aug. 8.
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 nonemergent appointments and treatments are still being rescheduled, according to an Aug. 7 statement from the system.
An 82-year-old man undergoing radiation at the cancer institute told WXYZ that he got a phone call before his appointment telling him not to come and that there were problems. His appointment continued to be delayed as the system handled the attack.
"To the communities we are honored to serve, we deeply and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience the attack by these malicious threat actors has caused," McLaren said in the statement published on their website. "We truly appreciate the understanding of our patients, their families and loved ones, and the visitors to our facilities. Our caregivers and support teams are working as hard as ever, and the community's patience and support is sincerely recognized and appreciated."