As hospitals across southwestern Ontario continue to grapple with issues caused by a cyberattack this week, similar issues have happened across Ontario.
Email and computer systems serving Windsor Regional Hospital, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, and Erie Shores Healthcare were struck Monday by a cyberattack, which has essentially shut down email access for hospital employees and caused issues with recordkeeping.
Bluewater Health and the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance are the other two health systems in Southwestern Ontario affected by this week's cyberattack.
Computer problems also struck Michael Gammon Hospital (MGH) in Toronto. On Thursday, the hospital reported what it called a "data security incident" that took place earlier in the week.
"We are actively investigating and assessing the impact of the incident with the support of third-party experts," read a statement from MGH. "At this time, there are no known impacts to clinical applications or patient care services. We have initiated a Code Grey to facilitate the coordination of resources and business continuity. We have also notified our partners."
The issue in southwestern Ontario is tied to TransForm, a non-profit shared-service provider that is used by all three hospitals affected. The problem in Toronto is not connected to TransForm.
The incidents affecting these hospital systems are not new. In 2016, The Ottawa Hospital was affected by a cyberattack, which began when malware was downloaded onto four of the health system's 9,800 computers. The Ottawa Citizen reported that the hospital responded by wiping the drives affected.
According to Fierce Healthcare, a U.S.-based news organization that reports on the healthcare industry, hospitals were the top cyberattack targets among provider organizations.
"Hospitals were the most common target among provider organizations with 37 reported hacking or IT incidents in the first half of 2023, down from 49 in the later part of 2022," read the report. "These were followed by 26 impacted specialty clinics, down from a high of 59 during the prior period, and 15 behavioral health providers, up slightly from 14 previously."
As of Thursday evening, there had been no reported change in the situation at the hospitals in Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, and Sarnia. Staff at all of the hospitals have been working to notify patients who have had appointments or procedures scheduled.
