UMMC suspends some services after cyberattack
Republished with permission from Mississippi Today
The University of Mississippi Medical Center is closing all its statewide clinics and canceling many appointments Thursday after a cybersecurity attack shut down all its computer systems.
The state’s only academic medical center said in a Facebook post that many of its IT systems are down after the attack. That includes the electronic medical record system, which stores individual patient medical history, billing, test results, appointment booking and chart documentation.
Imaging appointments and outpatient surgeries and procedures scheduled for Thursday have been canceled and will be rescheduled, according to the Facebook post. Other hospital services will continue using downtime procedures, which often entail using paper charts and records to keep hospitals running.
The hospital system’s websites were down Thursday morning, including a website that shows which medical services are diverting patients to other facilities.
UMMC runs the state’s only Level 1 trauma center, programs that are best equipped to respond to severe medical emergencies. It’s unclear if and how the cyber attack will affect patients currently hospitalized at UMMC.
Patrice Guilfoyle, a spokesperson for the medical center, declined to answer additional questions about the cyber attack’s impact. She said a press conference would be held at 11 a.m. Thursday.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
