AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s been almost a week since Ascension said all of its electronic health record systems were up and running after a ransomware attack took it offline.
Still, some said they’re dealing with impacts from the cyberattack.
Angela Pereira said it is preventing her mother from getting a test to help determine if her cancer spread.
“That is a problem when you’re delaying medical care for someone,” Pereira said. “Especially, you know, you’ve got a 70 year old woman waiting for care.”
‘Two month delay’
Pereira said she’d do anything for her mother.
“My mom… I would protect with my life.”
Angela Pereira
So when her mom’s health took a turn, Pereira wanted an explanation.
“Couple of weeks ago, we had an incident where I called to check on her on a Sunday and something was very off,” Pereira said. “She wasn’t able to put words together and make sentences. She wasn’t making any sense.”
Doctors said it was Hypercalcemia, which means there is too much calcium in the blood. With Pereira’s mother’s cancer history, she wanted to figure out if cancer moved into her blood.
“But in order to do that, she’s already had the blood drawn, and the doctor’s office needed to get a piece of the tissue from the original tumor that was removed,” Pereira said.
But getting an answer is proving more difficult than anticipated.
‘Unfortunately, Seton has told the doctor’s office that it could be a two month delay in getting that,” Pereira said.
What’s the hold up?
Pereira said they blamed the delay on providing the tumor sample on the cyberattack back in May.
As of mid-June, Ascension said it restored electronic health record access across its network. So Pereira wonders what the hold up is for her mother’s case.
“If you’re supposedly back online, then why do we have a problem getting the tumor piece that we need in order to do this test?” Pereira said.
KXAN reached out to Ascension for a response to this situation.
Caring for our patients has remained our highest priority throughout this event. Our workforce is well trained in providing patient care with established downtime procedures, and the compassion and resilience our care teams have displayed throughout this event is emblematic of Ascension’s mission to improve the health of the individuals and communities we serve.
Ascension now has more than 95% of our vendors reconnected or in the process of reconnecting, and core EHR systems are fully restored across all markets. We have provided third-party documentation about the security of our network to assist our vendors in feeling confident in reconnecting.“
Ascension Spokesperson
Ultimately, Pereira still has questions about what they do from here. She promises not to stop until she gets those answers for her mom.
“I’ll do anything to make sure she’s taken care of,” Pereira said.