Radiation treatments, stroke care resume at McLaren and Karmanos sites after cyberattack

McLaren Health Care was still working to fully restore operations at its 13 Michigan hospitals and medical offices a week after a cyberattack rattled the Grand Blanc-based health system, forcing delays in radiation treatments for cancer patients, diagnostic heart testing, as well as other procedures.

It remained unclear whether the Aug. 5 cyberattack breached the personal data of patients or employees, according to a status update McLaren issued Monday evening.

There also was no timeline for when McLaren's tech systems will be fully restored, McLaren spokesperson David Jones told the Free Press.

"Emergency departments continue to be operational and open to patients arriving for care. A few locations are on ambulance diversion for certain conditions (meaning emergency teams will transport patients to the next closest facility), and those locations remain in regular communication with their local medical control authorities to ensure efficient coordination between facilities," the statement said.

Jones said each hospital's emergency department was working with its local medical control authority to determine on a case-by-case basis when ambulances should be diverted to other hospitals.

"It is only for certain conditions," he said, "and can vary by day and location."

The Comprehensive Stroke Centers at McLaren Flint and McLaren Macomb are fully operational, the health system said, and all radiation therapy units at Karmanos Cancer Institute facilities across Michigan have resumed treating cancer patients.

More:Michigan AG Nessel: Details 'scarce' about what data was leaked in McLaren cyberattack

"Some sites ... started treating patients over the weekend," McLaren's statement said. "This includes Gamma Knife Radiosurgery in Farmington Hills and the McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint. Patients whose appointments were delayed should expect a call from their care team, who are working diligently to reschedule appointments."

Though intermittent problems with the telephone system persist, McLaren said its primary and specialty care offices are "largely operational" and patients once again are able to make appointments. In addition, the McLarenNow platform, which is used for virtual medical appointments, is functioning and can be accessed at mclaren.org/now.

More:McLaren patients say they can't get cancer treatments, heart tests in wake of cyberattack

However, McLaren's statement noted that there are ongoing problems accessing many of its other tech systems, so there could be longer than usual wait times and patients are urged to bring the following paper documents to appointments:

• A list of current medications or empty prescription bottles.
• Printed physician orders for imaging studies or treatments. 
• Printed results of recent lab tests available in the patient portals.
• A list of allergies.

"We remain truly grateful for the tireless effort and dedication displayed by our team members under these demanding circumstances, and we sincerely regret any impact this cyber attack may have had on our patients," the statement said.

This isn't the first time a cyberattack at McLaren has had ripple effects that disrupted patient care.

Last August, a ransomware gang known as BlackCat/AlphV claimed responsibility for another attack on McLaren, posting online that it stole 6 terabytes of data, including the personal information of 2.5 million patients.

The health system reported at the time that it had shut down its own computer networks "out of an abundance of caution" after its information technology security team found suspicious activity during routine monitoring.

Jones told the Free Press last week that the current cyberattack is not connected to the previous breach.

The $6.6 billion health system includes 13 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and imaging centers, along with pharmacy services and a clinical laboratory network. McLaren employs 28,000 people and more than 113,000 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and runs commercial and Medicaid health insurance plans, which enroll 732,838 people in Michigan and Indiana.

McLaren says on its website that it "operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute." Karmanos treats 14,000 new cancer patients each year.

Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press.