Healthcare Records Restored At Ascension St. John After Cyber Attack

Ascension St. John has now restored its online patient healthcare records after a cyber attack about a month ago.

The hospital had to divert some patients because they couldn't access records and doctors and staff had to go back to writing everything by hand.

The cyber attack affected the healthcare system across the nation and they've been trying to get patients at all the facilities, back to where they can see their appointments, medical histories and medications.

Kylie Willis's house is usually filled with sounds of her little girl Cassie running around and having fun.

But Kylie's health scares over the past couple of months have changed that.

“I had started with pregnancy, some pelvis hip pain didn't go away," she said.

Kylie went to St. John to get help. She got a steroid shot that ended up getting infected.

“Throughout April and May, I was going through the St. John provider. The cyber-attack happened on Mother's Day. The pain was so bad, I had to go to the emergency room," she said. 

Kylie said the ER was standing room only with patients being diverted because the cyber attack meant doctors and nurses couldn't access patient information and records.

She says it felt like going back in time.

"This is how they used to operate, it's insane to watch them physically write my wrist bracelet," Kylie said.

Kylie ended up going elsewhere to get emergency surgery for MRSA.

Ascension said the electronic health records have been restored and that means its hospitals and all its clinics get back to normal in Oklahoma.

Amie Mitchell is the president of the Tulsa Better Business Bureau and says these kinds of attacks are happening much more often and the criminals take advantage of not just healthcare businesses, but, patients, too.

“The best thing for businesses is to start with a plan, it's better to not be retroactive," she said. 

Kylie says the St John doctors worked hard to get everyone taken care of, even with all the technology issues.

"As much as technology has helped us, the minute it goes down, it's terrifying," Kylie said.

Ascension said it’s still investigating what caused the cyber attack.

It says if any patient information was compromised those patients will be contacted directly.

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