MyChart back online for University Hospitals patients after cybersecurity incident knocks out digital services for over 3 weeks
University Hospitals announced that its online patient portal is once again accessible to users following a cybersecurity incident that knocked the system offline over three weeks ago.
According to a statement from UH, the restoration of MyChart will allow the hospitals to return test results faster, increase communication with patients and provide "the kind of care our patients have relied on for 160 years."
Although the system is back online for users, UH said some features may still be limited.
"You may see a slight delay in new test results and other information as MyChart data is reconciled and updated. We are working to resolve those issues as soon as possible," University Hospitals said. "We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and are working to get back to being fully restored."
A cybersecurity incident was detected by UH staff on Oct. 22, and due to the unusual activity, UH disconnected MyChart from the internet.
"We are also humbled by the dedication of so many caregivers across the organization – both those who have worked to continue to serve and treat our patients, and those who have worked to help restore our services," University Hospitals said.
Last Monday, UH said its call center was experiencing "unusually high call volumes" amid the digital services outage, and asked patients not to verify their appointments by phone.
An internal letter to UH employees late last month detailed how the health system was adjusting its workflows to continue providing care while affected services remained unavailable. In addition to the MyChart issues, the incident affected electronic prescribing of medications. UH said it was adjusting its processes to include written prescriptions, faxed prescriptions and telephone refills.
UH's statement on Saturday did not include an update on the status of electronic prescriptions.
3News' Justin McMullen and Monica Robins contributed to this report.
