Patients at Ascension hospital network given dangerous doses of narcotics after disastrous cyberattack Daily Mail Online

pBy Alexa Lardieri US Deputy Health Editor DailymailCom pp Published 1851 19 June 2024 Updated 1512 20 June 2024 pppp 61ppView commentsppppA cyberattack on a major American hospital system has caused dangerous medication mix ups including patients administered narcotics by mistake leading to an admission to intensive care for lifethreatening breathing difficultiesppIn another case a female patient suffered a cardiac arrest and died after data mishaps delayed test results that would determine her lifesaving treatment ppElsewhere a nurse working for the Kansas branch of the major medical group recalled a near miss which involved him almost administering a potentially lifethreatening dose of narcotic to a baby because of confusing paperwork ppEmployees at Ascension a Catholic healthcare system with more than 140 facilities across the country said these patients are just some of those suffering from the continued fallout of a cyberattack last month ppThe healthcare giant detected unusual activity across its networks which left doctors and nurses locked out of digital systems and unable to access vital details about patients care ppMarvin Ruckle who has worked for two decades as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at an Ascension hospital in Kansas said confusing paperwork nearly led him to administer the wrong dose of a narcotic to a baby after the health system suffered a cyberattack on May 8ppAscension Via Christi St Joseph in Wichita Kansas one of 140 hospitals the Catholic health system operates nationwideppDespite Ascension claiming on June 14 that access to the network was restored more than a dozen staff have revealed that astonishing mistakes are still taking place across hospital sites from medication mixups to lost test results ppEmployees say their hospitals are relying on shocking workarounds to bypass the computers including using handwritten sticky notes to keep track of dozens of critically ill patientsppJustin Neisser a travel nurse working at the Ascension hospital at the time time told CBS4 in May I just want to warn those patients that are coming to any of the Ascension facilities that there will be delays in care There is potential for error and for harmppA emergency room doctor at an Ascension hospital in Michigan who remained anonymous for fear of retaliation told Michigan Public and Kaiser Health News a patient was given a dangerous narcotic intended for someone else because of confusing paperworkppAfter receiving the mistaken drug the patients breathing slowed dangerously down and they had to be admitted to the ICU and put on a ventilator ppThe doctor said We intubated him and we sent him to the ICU because he got the wrong medicationppAnother ER provider a nurse also in Michigan who remained anonymous told Kaiser a woman suffering from low blood sugar and confusion went into cardiac arrest and died after hospital workers said they waited four hours for lab results they needed in order to proceed with her careppBut they never received the results ppAn ICU nurse working at Ascension Via Christi St Francis in Kansas above said she almost gave the wrong medication to a critically ill patient because she couldnt scan it like she had always done in the past with electronic recordsppICU nurse Melissa LaRue at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore above said she almost administered a dangerously wrong dose of a drug a patients blood pressure medicationppThe nurse said If I started having crushing chest pain in the middle of work and thought I was having a big one I would grab someone to drive me down the street to another hospitalppMarvin Ruckle a nurse at Ascension Via Christi St Joseph in Kansas told Kaiser Health News he almost gave a baby the wrong dose of narcotic because of confusing paperworkppThe nurse has worked in the neonatal intensive care unit for 20 years but said it was hard to decipher which was the correct dose of the infants medication on the babys chart ppMr Ruckle said he had never seen that happen when we were on the computer system before the ransomware attack He added he had not received training for cyberattacksppAnother ICU nurse working at Ascension Via Christi St Francis in Kansas said she almost gave the wrong medication to a critically ill patient because she couldnt scan it like she had always done in the past with electronic records ppLisa Watson told Kaiser My patient probably would have passed away had I not caught itppAnd while Ms Watson had used paper charts for much of her career before electronic records were implemented she said the system in place after the cyberattack was by no means the sameppEMAIL Healthdailymailcom ppShe added When we papercharted we had systems in place to get those orders to other departments in a timely manner and those have all gone awayppAcross the country in Maryland ICU nurse Melissa LaRue at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore said she too almost administered the wrong dose of a drug a patients blood pressure medication ppShe said Luckily it was triplechecked and remedied before that could happen But I think the potential for harm is there when you have so much information and paperwork that you have to go throughppWhile Ascension may be one of the most recent it is far from the only institution suffering from cyberattacks The FBI released its internet crime report earlier this month revealing that in 2023 nearly 1200 organizations were affected by ransomware including 250 reports made by medical groups the most of the 16 industries the report covered ppHowever experts have warned hospital attacks dont just steal a patients information but pose a serious threat to public safety Due to other recent cyberattacks Americans were blocked from receiving lifesaving medication and in one case a ninemonthold baby lost her lifeppCybersecurity expert Steven McKeon previously told DailyMailcom that rickety infrastructures and outdated security systems have made it too easy for hackers to infect networks with ransomware warning the situation will only get worse ppDailyMailcom reached out to Ascension for comment and a spokesperson referred this website to the hospitals statement released last week ppHowever Sean Fitzpatrick Ascensions vice president of external communications told Kaiser via email As we have made clear throughout this cyberattack which has impacted our system and our dedicated clinical providers caring for our patients is our highest priority We are confident that our care providers in our hospitals and facilities continue to provide quality medical careppPublished by Associated Newspapers LtdppPart of the Daily Mail The Mail on Sunday Metro Media Groupp