Alison Baulos said her 73-year-old father was scheduled to go to a Kentucky hospital for open-heart surgery when the operation was abruptly canceled early on the morning of July 19. His surgery was one of many procedures and medical treatments halted across the country due to a global technology outage.
A global IT incident stemmed from a faulty software update released by a cybersecurity company, affecting customers running Microsoft Windows.
Baulos shared: "This really makes you realize how dependent we are on technology and how scary that is."
Gary Baulos with his daughter Alison and granddaughter Athena. Photo: Alison Baulos
The American Hospital Association said the impact of the incident varied widely. Some hospitals were unaffected, while others had to delay, redirect, or cancel treatment.
Baulos said her father, Gary Baulos, was informed on July 17 that several tests showed he had eight blockages and an aneurysm, requiring surgery. He prepared for the surgery on July 18 and had found a hotel near Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky, about an hour's drive from his home. He was about to arrive at the hospital around 4 a.m. on July 19 when he received a call informing him the surgery had to be postponed due to a power outage.
At Guthrie Clinics in New York and Pennsylvania, emergency departments remain open, but outpatient testing and X-ray appointments have been canceled. All elective surgeries have been postponed, and medical consultations are conducted only on paper.
Sahana Singh arrived at the clinic in Ithaca, New York at 9 a.m., only to be told that her heart checkup would have to be postponed for two weeks. "Technology is supposed to make things more efficient. We didn't think a small software update could cripple an entire global system," she said.
Boston-based Mass General Brigham Health System said it canceled all non-emergency appointments due to the power outage, but emergency rooms remained open. The health system was unable to access patient health records and schedules.
Harris Health System, which operates public hospitals and clinics in the Houston area, said on the morning of July 19 that it was suspending hospital visits "until further notice." Appointments were canceled and rescheduled. Clinic appointments were suspended but later resumed.
The power outage affected the records system of Providence, a healthcare system with 51 hospitals in Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon, and Washington state. According to an announcement on July 19th from the Washington-based healthcare system, access to patient records has been restored, but the servers remain down.
Ngoc Anh (according to AP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/su-co-it-toan-cau-lam-dung-cac-ca-phau-thuat-dieu-tri-y-te-tren-khap-nuoc-my-post304236.html
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