University of Mississippi Medical Center to resume clinics Monday after cyberattack

University of Mississippi Medical Center clinics statewide are expected to resume normal operations and scheduled appointments Monday after being closed for more than a week by a Feb. 19 cyberattack, hospital officials said Friday.

“It will take some time to fully recover and to investigate this criminal attack on our network systems,” Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs for the medical center, said in a Friday statement. The medical center said clinics will begin reaching out Monday to reschedule canceled appointments and will be open for extended hours and days to accommodate patients.

UMMC said Friday in a social media post that it can now access patient records and that phone lines and internet are working, allowing the medical center to resume regular patient call center operations. The hospital said the electronic health record will come online Saturday and patients will then have access to their MyChart accounts.

The attack compromised the health system’s IT network and forced UMMC to shut down all of its network systems, including its electronic patient health records, the medical center said. Dr. Woodward confirmed in a Tuesday interview with SuperTalk Mississippi that the attacker made financial demands. UMMC has not publicly detailed how extensive the attack was or whether any data were compromised.

Federal agencies including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have been assisting the hospital since Feb. 19, UMMC said. The medical center said hospitals and emergency departments have remained open and urged patients with time-sensitive needs, including prescription refills or postoperative care, to call the UMMC Triage Line at 601-815-0000. UMMC said it is one of Mississippi’s largest providers of specialty health care and operates the state’s only Level 1 trauma center.

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