A flawed software update from CrowdStrike Holdings has led to a Microsoft global outage, causing significant disruptions in health systems across the globe.
Hospitals have been forced to cancel medical appointments that are not urgent and delay procedures, highlighting the critical reliance on digital infrastructure in healthcare.
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The cyber incident, which originated from a defective CrowdStrike software update, incapacitated Microsoft systems globally.
This disruption had a domino effect, affecting airports, financial networks, and healthcare facilities.
A Bloomberg report highlighted that Epic Systems, known for its electronic health record system, reported that while its software was not directly impacted, the outage caused technical difficulties that prevented healthcare providers from accessing the systems.
In Paris, Saint-Joseph hospital had to resort to manual patient check-ins as the self-service kiosks were rendered inoperative, the report added.
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By GlobalDataMeanwhile, the NHS in the UK also turned to manual processes to maintain operations.
In a media statement, an NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS is aware of a global IT outage and an issue with EMIS, an appointment and patient record system, which is causing disruption in the majority of GP practices.
“The NHS has long-standing measures in place to manage disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and usual phone systems to contact your GP. There is currently no known impact on 999 so people should use these services as they usually would in emergency situations.”
In the US, Kaiser Permanente, with its network of hospitals and medical offices, activated its national command centre to manage widespread effects, The New York Times reported citing spokesperson Steve Shivinsky.
Banner Health, operating in six states, closed several outpatient facilities, although hospitals remained open for inpatient care.
Providence Health, with 52 hospitals and 1,000 clinics, also experienced significant disruptions.
While patient records were still accessible via mobile devices, critical applications, including those used in surgeries, were down, leading to numerous cancellations, stated Providence chief information officer BJ Moore.
The system’s 15,000 servers were offline, and approximately 40,000 out of 150,000 computers experienced failures.
More than 1,000 personnel, including some in India, are working to resolve the outage at Providence Health, with full restoration expected to take weeks, Moore estimated.
