McLaren Health Care Confirms Cyberattack After IT System Disruptions

Dive Brief:

• Grand Blanc, Michigan-based McLaren Health Care confirmed Wednesday it was hit by a cyberattack after reporting disruptions to its IT and phone systems earlier this week.
• The health system is largely operational, McLaren said in a statement. Most surgeries and procedures will continue to be performed, but some non-emergent appointments, tests and treatments will be delayed “out of an abundance of caution.”
• The latest attack on the Michigan system comes less than a year after McLaren was hit by a ransomware attack.

Dive Insight: 

McLaren operates 13 hospitals in Michigan, as well as ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, and a primary and specialty care physician network. The system also has commercial and Medicaid health plans that cover more than 730,000 people in Michigan and Indiana, according to McLaren. 

The system said it’s currently working with external cybersecurity experts to analyze the attack and mitigate its impact.

Patients should bring a list of allergies and current medications or prescription bottles to appointments, as well as printed physician orders for imaging or treatments and results of recent lab tests. 

At this time, McLaren hasn’t determined if any patient or employee data was exposed in the attack. 

The cyberattack against McLaren comes as the healthcare sector has become a significant target for cybercriminals.

OneBlood, a blood center that serves hundreds of hospitals in the southeastern U.S., was hit by a ransomware attack last week, pressuring the region’s blood supply. The center said Thursday it was now processing and distributing blood products to hospitals at a normal pace. 

Catholic health system Ascension faced a ransomware attack in May. The attack affected pharmacy operations and forced some hospitals to divert ambulances or pause elective procedures. It took weeks to fully bring the provider’s electronic health record system back online.