Radiology practice suffers ‘significant’ cyberattack
An Oregon radiology practice suffered a “significant” cyberattack over the Memorial Day weekend, according to published reports.
Medford Radiology Group has retained a team of computer forensics experts to help aid in its response. The 75-year-old practice also has alerted partner organizations such as the Asante and Providence hospital systems after learning of the incident on May 26.
“We are utilizing all available resources to offer radiology services and patient care to the extent possible while our experts and the Medford team work as quickly as possible to fully restore operations,” the practice said in a statement shared with local media outlets. “We appreciate your patience as we conduct our investigation and respond to this incident.”
The southern Oregon-based group said the attack had left it unable to view or report on images. Leaders were still uncertain of the full scope of the problem as of May 30, NBC noted. Medford Radiology employs about 20 physicians providing services to more than a dozen locations, according to its website.
A recent report from consulting firm Sg2 labeled cybersecurity as a top trend to watch in diagnostic imaging. Healthcare experiences the highest cost per breach, averaging about $10 million per incident, according to IBM. In one recent example, Raleigh Radiology experienced a ransomware attack that cost the practice more than $1 million.
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.