Recent cyberattack wrecked havoc on a major American hospital network. Photo credit: VILevi via Shutterstock.
Recent cyberattack caused severe disruption in a major American hospital network, causing life threatening complications in United States.
According to The Washington Times on Thursday, June 20, 2024, a recent cyberattack has caused severe disruption in a major American hospital network, leading to serious and even fatal medical errors. This attack resulted in alarming incidents, including the mistaken administration of narcotics to patients, causing life-threatening complications.
One tragic incident involved a female patient who suffered a cardiac arrest and died due to delayed test results caused by data mishaps, as reported by the Daily Mail. In another near-miss, a nurse in Kansas almost administered a lethal dose of narcotics to an infant because of erroneous paperwork.
The healthcare provider at the center of this crisis is Ascension, a Catholic healthcare system that operates over 140 facilities nationwide. Despite the company’s claims that their network was “restored” on June 14, employees have come forward to say that the repercussions of last month’s cyberattack are still being felt.
The attack locked doctors and nurses out of vital digital systems, leaving them unable to access crucial patient information. As a result, staff had to resort to primitive methods, such as using handwritten sticky notes, to track critically ill patients.
Justin Neisser, a travel nurse working at an Ascension hospital, warned patients about potential delays and risks. “There is potential for error and for harm,” he told CBS4 in May.
An emergency room doctor in Michigan, who chose to remain anonymous, recounted a harrowing incident in which a patient was mistakenly given a dangerous narcotic intended for another person. This mix-up led to the patient’s breathing dangerously slowing down, necessitating an ICU admission and ventilation.
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