The Hospital Sisters Health System said Tuesday morning that patients can once again schedule appointments through the MyChart application. This comes more than two weeks after various systems were interrupted in what has been described as a “cybersecurity incident.”
The problems first began on August 27. Since then, little information has been released. HSHS said it is working with law enforcement.
HSHS Tuesdaysaid it had restored functionality to the EPIC platform, which handles electronic health records and MyChart.
“We will respond to patient messages as quickly as possible, and we encourage patients to reach out to their health care provider’s office to speak with a member of their health care team, should they require urgent assistance,” a statement read.
“We appreciate your patience as we work to respond to your messages as quickly as possible, while giving the personal attention each of our patients deserves.”
The outages have created problems for patients trying to manage their health care. Some have reported difficulty getting authorizations for treatment and even struggling to have prescriptions refilled.
MyChart allows for scheduling appointments, accessing test results, requesting drug refills and communicating with physicians.
HSHS President and CEO Damond Boatwright last week explained why so few details into the incident have released.
"We will share more information as we are able," Boatwright said in the video message. "But there will be information we won’t be able to share publicly to protect systems and privacy of patients."
As of last week, the medical group said access to “some patient services” had been restored. It pointed out hospitals and emergency departments have remained open.
It also said if it is made aware that personal patient information had been compromised, it would contact individuals.
HSHS operates 15 hospitals, including St. John's in Springfield, St. Mary's in Decatur and St. Francis in Litchfield, along with several clinics in Illinois and Wisconsin.
“We remain focused on restoring the rest of our systems in a methodical manner, which will take time to complete. We appreciate your continued patience and look forward to continuing to care for our valued patients,” Tuesday’s statement said.
