Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare patients lost access to their online portals last week after a network shutdown, according to a report from CBS affiliate Eyewitness News 3.
Four details:
1. The health system's IT department temporarily shut off outside access to the health system's network last week to make improvements in response to the federal government's warning about cyberthreats against health systems, according to a Nov. 16 memo from President and CEO Jeffrey Flaks.
2. Hartford's EHR system and other internal IT systems were not affected by the issue, according to the report.
3. Some patients were unable to access COVID-19 test results due to the blocked access, and Harford said it would notify patients of positive results by phone.
4. The portal outage lasted more than 24 hours.