Emergency departments, on-demand care and urgent care locations are open, Kettering Health said.
For urgent medical needs after hours, on weekends and holidays, Kettering Health Medical Group patients can call MatchMD at 1-866-257-5363, but otherwise for urgent medical questions patients can call the temporary clinical support line.
For medical emergencies, patients are urged to go to the nearest emergency department.
“To ensure these phone lines are available for patients who need it most, we kindly ask that you do not call for questions about the technology outage, information or data security concerns, or scheduling for non-urgent appointments,” Kettering Health said in its most recent update.
Surgery patients in limbo
The hospital system’s ongoing technology outage followed a cybersecurity incident last Tuesday, resulting from unauthorized access to its network.
The effect of this technology outage goes beyond the Miami Valley. Debby Edwards of Greenfield, a village in Highland and Ross counties, said her husband was supposed to undergo pre-surgery testing last week for an open heart procedure, but it was canceled the first day the outage.
Edwards’ husband has an aortic aneurysm, which is a bulge in the wall of the aorta, the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. A rupture could be life-threatening.
He has been dealing with his condition for 11 years and has been treated the whole time at Kettering Health.
“Then in March they said, ‘Look, we need to fix it now,’” Edwards said.
Now, they don’t know whether the surgery will still happen this week. They also don’t know whether they can go to another hospital system because they cannot access their patient records through Kettering Health, which means they would have to start from the beginning.
“You have nothing that they can look at. You’re going to start at ground zero, probably. And then starting at ground zero, what is your insurance going to say?” Edwards said.
Their insurance already has been billed $55,000 this year for the testing and preparation for her husband’s condition and upcoming surgery, she said, so they doubt their insurance would cover the testing again.
“I just keep praying about it, for them to fix it, for them to get their backup system straightened out,” Edwards said.
Backup plans forming, but some say it hasn’t been fast enough
Patients also are frustrated at the time it took for a backup plan to start to emerge when it became evident this was not going to be a quick fix. Edwards said she feels for the people who have gone without medication or chemotherapy.
“They should have had a backup number that first day,” Edwards said.
Like other patients, their most immediate concern has not been whether their financial or other personal records have been stolen or compromised because they haven’t had time to worry about it.
“We’re not even concerned about our data being out there,” Edwards said.
Ann Mescher of Centerville has been undergoing testing to determine what is causing the pain she is experiencing, she said.
“I’m off work on short-term disability, but I need more information,” Mescher said.
She hasn’t been able to access her test results, and she also hasn’t been able to access pain management beyond muscle relaxers and Advil, she said.
“I had a (CT) scan done, and that was OK, so they’re pretty sure it‘s not one of the organs, but is there a torn or pulled ligament?“ Mescher said. ”(I) don’t know, but I do know the muscle relaxants are not working."
Mescher’s husband also is scheduled to have surgery this week, but Mescher is worried about doctors not having access to the medical history software.
“I am worried, regarding my husband, that things are gonna fall through the cracks,” Mescher said.
Epic, which is the electronic medical records software company that created MyChart, can provide doctors with guidance, such as whether a medication or treatment might negatively impact a patient.
“When your Epic goes down, it‘s horrible,” said Mescher, who works in health care.
Without electronic medical records, health providers have to go back to paper charting.
“I can’t imagine going for days without that system,” Mescher said.
Others in the region are facing similar pre- and post-surgery questions.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to have surgery (today),” said Lisa Haddix of Miami Twp.
Her pre-surgery appointment was canceled last week when the cyberattack that led to the technology outage happened. She also was not able to get prescriptions last week that she needed prior to the surgery.
Kristi Leeth of Springfield had an emergency surgery a couple days before the technology outage happened, and she was having difficulty connecting with her care team for post-surgery follow-up, she said.
“Fortunately, I haven’t had any complications,” she said.
Leeth is among the numerous patients anxiously waiting for more information on what to do and when they will see their doctors next.
Patients struggling over prescriptions
Debbie Hardix of Hamilton said it was time for a refill of her blood pressure medication, so last Sunday she went to her MyChart account and requested it. Normally they respond within a day, and then on Tuesday she found out about the cyberattack.
She went to her cardiologist‘s office, where there was a sign on the door that the practice was closed due to the technology outage.
“I was starting to panic,” said Hardix, who had pills to last for a few days but not the anticipated 10- to 20-day outage. “I didn’t want to run out.”
While outside the doctor’s office, she said a man showed up who said he had an appointment for testing but had not been notified it was canceled.
Luckily, Hardix’ primary care physician agreed to prescribe her medication for her. She said Kettering Health took too long to come up with a plan for the technology outage, when they should have had one in place all along.
“There’s a lot of people worse off than me,” she said. “It can be life-threatening if you don’t get your medication or your treatments. It‘s like they’ve forgotten the patients.”
If you are a current patient, bring your empty prescription bottle to the practice location, and the Kettering Health team will assist you, Kettering Health said in one of its recent updates.
Kettering Health has 14 area medical centers and more than 120 outpatient locations throughout Western Ohio, as well as Kettering Physician Network, which includes more than 700 board-certified providers.
