Cyberattack Forces University of New Mexico Health System to Turn Away Patients and Cancel Clinic Visits
Patients are being redirected to other hospitals while the health system's services are restored in stages and a law enforcement investigation continues.
A cyberattack on the University of New Mexico Health System on Monday forced it to turn patients away from its main Albuquerque hospital, cancel appointments across its more than 30 clinics, and divert ambulances to other facilities. The network, which runs the state's only Level 1 trauma center, handles roughly 900,000 outpatient visits and 100,000 emergency room visits a year, so the disruption left New Mexico without a fully equipped trauma facility. Employees reported messages appearing on their screens claiming the intruders had taken student, staff and patient data, though the system declined to comment because a law enforcement investigation is underway. Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System said they were taking on additional patients, and UNM said its hospitals and clinics began restoring services in stages later that day.
Why it matters
The attack hit the only Level 1 trauma center in New Mexico, and the network's volume of outpatient and emergency visits means many patients were affected at once. Other hospitals in the area have stepped in to take on additional patients, so the disruption is being absorbed by rivals rather than shut out entirely. Claims that student, employee and patient data was taken remain unconfirmed, and the health system has not commented on them while the investigation is underway. For patients in the state, the immediate effect is uncertainty about where care is available and whether their information is at risk.
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