October 24, 2023 at 10:18AM
A cyberattack on TransForm, a shared service provider for five hospitals in Ontario, Canada, has led to operational disruptions, impacting patient care and causing appointment rescheduling. The hospitals affected are Windsor Regional Hospital, Hotel Dieu Grace, Erie Shores Healthcare, Hospice of Windsor-Essex, and Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. Patients with scheduled appointments will be contacted to make alternate arrangements. The cause and scope of the incident are being investigated, with uncertainty about the impact on patient information. The affected hospitals advise non-emergency patients to avoid visiting and seek primary care or local clinics instead.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes:
1. A cyberattack on shared service provider TransForm has impacted operations in five hospitals in Ontario, Canada, leading to rescheduling of appointments and potential disruption in patient care.
2. TransForm is a not-for-profit, shared service organization that manages IT, supply chain, and accounts payable for five hospitals in Erie St. Clair, Ontario.
3. TransForm released a statement acknowledging the IT system outage caused by the cyberattack and is currently investigating the incident to determine its cause and scope.
4. It has not been determined yet if any patient information was affected by the cyberattack.
5. The five hospitals impacted by the situation are Windsor Regional Hospital, Hotel Dieu Grace, Erie Shores Healthcare, Hospice of Windsor-Essex, and Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.
6. The joint statement issued by the hospitals advises patients with scheduled appointments in the next few days to expect rescheduling or alternative arrangements, while non-emergency patients are urged to avoid visiting the hospitals.
7. Patients who have received healthcare services at the affected institutions in the past are advised to remain vigilant and treat unsolicited communications with suspicion.
8. Further details on the cyberattack have been sought from TransForm by BleepingComputer, but no response has been received as of the publication time.