Cybersecurity incident forces radiology practice to cancel all appointments so far in September
A cybersecurity incident has forced one state’s “leading” radiology practice to cancel all appointments so far in September.
Hawaii Radiologic Associates said it recently experienced an interruption impacting some of its computer systems. Around for over 50 years, the imaging group is in the town of Hilo on Hawaii’s Big Island, has four locations and employs six on-site radiologists.
“While no electronic public health information was accessed, compromised or disrupted in our investigations thus far, we will not be performing STAT exams and walk-in X-rays temporarily as our security teams review and update our infrastructure,” HRA said in a message affixed to its front door, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Wednesday.
The news outlet noted that the situation is similar to an October 2022 ransomware attack that shuttered Hawaii Radiologic Associates’ facilities for three weeks. Hilo Benioff Medical Center has stepped in to provide imaging services to HRA patients, as it did two years ago.
“[Hawaii Radiologic Associates] didn’t have a reschedule date,” one anonymous patient who had his appointment canceled told the Tribune-Herald. “They also said I could phone them for more info, but that their phone system was sometimes also down.”
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.