Healthcare Systems Worldwide Hit by Global IT Outage
Healthcare organisations are among those affected by a catastrophic IT outage causing havoc around the world.
It came after the US cybersecurity company CrowdStrike updated its cybersecurity solutions on Windows systems worldwide, and left workers facing a “blue screen of death” as their computers failed to start. Experts said every affected PC may have to be fixed manually.
Microsoft says it is taking action to mitigate the problem, according to the BBC. The problem is not being treated as a cyberattack, but rather what cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has referred to as a "defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts".
Issues have been reported in multiple countries, including India, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Japan, among others.
In the US, health systems nationwide were affected, including: West Orange, New Jersey-based RWJBarnabas Health, Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare, Boston-based Mass General Brigham and Louisville, and Kentucky-based Norton Healthcare.
Software update causes Healthcare outages worldwide
Other facilities, including Buffalo, New York-based Kaleida Health and Burlington, Massachusetts-based Tufts Medicine are open. However, they’re operating under emergency management downtime procedures.
The American Hospital Association is aware of the outage and in touch with health systems as well as the federal government about the situation, John Riggi, the AHA’s national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, told Healthcare Dive via email.
Most systems are reporting disruptions related to communication systems, such as scheduling and check-in procedures. Billing procedures may also be impacted.
Systems across the UK's National Health Service (NHS) have also been affected, including doctors' surgeries and pharmacists.
The global IT outages are causing serious problems for the NHS, including GP surgeries, with some forced to turn away patients with routine appointments and see only those classed as an emergency.
Family doctor practices are experiencing major disruption because they cannot access patients’ records or refer them on for tests or appointments at their local hospital.
An incident like this demonstrates the far-reaching impact of what can happen if essential technology fails.
Operating on such a large scale, the IT incident is believed to have been triggered by a faulty software update.
These types of outages have not been uncommon recently, with the UK air traffic control systems experiencing a blackout in 2023 acting as an earlier example of what can happen in the event of a total system failure.
In addition, the impact of such significant cyber events cannot be understated within the healthcare sector. In June 2024, some London hospitals encountered an overwhelming ransomware attack linked to Synnovi, a provider of pathology services, that wreaked havoc on clinical services and led to significant cancellations.
Those that can access digital services have been quick to comment on the enormity of the outage. Australian computer expert Troy Hunt, who created the HaveIBeenPwned website, posted on X: “I don’t think it’s too early to call it: this will be the largest IT outage in history.
“The financial impact of this is already hard to fathom.”