It will take most of this year for Windsor Regional Hospital to fully recover from a cyberattack that rocked five southwestern Ontario hospitals last fall.
That’s according to hospital CEO David Musyj, who on Thursday said “a lot” of systems are not yet up and running.
Article content
But most major clinical systems have been restored, and two more will come online in the next few days, he said. If all goes as planned, the hospital will on Tuesday lift its Code Grey status, which has meant zero access to electronic health records or email for months.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
- Get exclusive access to the Windsor Star ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
- Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
- Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
- Get exclusive access to the Windsor Star ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
- Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
- Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account.
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
- Enjoy additional articles per month.
- Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Article content
“The patient’s experience when they enter the hospital should not be impacted at all by the cyberattack now,” Musyj told reporters following the hospital’s monthly board meeting.
“All of the major systems are up and running. Could there be peripheral systems that could impact? Yes, but not to the point of (impacting) them getting the care they need at the time they need.”
In an attempt to blackmail the institutions, hackers in October stole millions of records from Bluewater Health in Sarnia, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, and Windsor Regional Hospital. The attack also locked the hospitals out of their technology-based systems.
As of Jan. 3, Windsor Regional’s PACs system was up and running. That’s the system that stores diagnostic images and reports and allows for radiologists and other physicians to access those images for interpretation, diagnosis, and treatment.
The hospital is still experiencing some backlog with imaging for its semi-urgent and non-urgent patients, said Karen Riddell, chief operating officer and chief nursing executive.
Article content
“It’s going to take about 10 weeks to clear our P3s (semi-urgent patients), and we’re working currently with our regional partners and Ontario Health West to come up with a recovery plan,” Riddell said.
“We’ll all be working together to make sure that we’re able to get those wait lists down.”
Riddell said the hospital has kept physician offices informed of wait times. Patients are directed to other hospitals for imaging, if necessary, unless it’s appropriate for them to wait for diagnostic imaging in Windsor.
This month, the hospital’s nutrition software was brought back online, allowing individualized meal ordering options. Also revived was the hospital’s hematology lab module.
In the coming days, two more systems are expected to be back in play: Pyxis, an automated medication dispensing cabinet, and CVIS, a cardiovascular information system used for connecting the hospital’s cardiac imaging, echocardiogram reporting, electrocardiogram test reporting, and cath lab and health records to allow for remote viewing by physicians.
“We’ll have reached a major milestone with the restoration of those two items,” Riddell said.
Article content
“Teams have been working really hard the last few months to get everything back up and running and we’ll continue on with the work to get things back online over the next few months.”
Recommended from Editorial
Work to notify the more than 270,000 patients and staff whose sensitive information was stolen during the breach is ongoing. Musyj said the hospital is currently working through the issue with Ontario’s privacy commissioner.
An investigation into the cybersecurity attack by the Ontario Provincial Police involving Interpol and the FBI is ongoing, Musyj said.
Article content