Swedish medical wireless communications company Ortivus said it is ready to “re-initiate” its MobiMed electronic patient records (EPR) system for British customers affected by a cyber attack last Tuesday.
The HSJ reported that staff at two ambulance trusts, South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust and South Central Ambulance Service Foundation Trust had been working on paper since the MobiMed systems went down.
Around 7600 paramedics in more than 1000 emergency vehicles use Ortivus’s system in the UK, according to the company’s website. In a press release, Ortivus CEO Reidar Gårdebäck said the company was just waiting for final approval by NHS authorities before the ambulance trusts can reconnect.
“The MobiMed ePR system that was hit by the previously reported cyber attack is ready to be re-initiated for the affected customers as an interim live environment has been constructed using new equipment,” the press release quoted him as saying.
“Before the system can be brought into operation it has to be approved and verified by an independent actor to ensure that the system meets certain criteria indicated by NHS England and the Ambulance Trusts. This external analysis is ongoing and is expected to be finished at the beginning of next week.”
The press release said that paramedics can use the MobiMed EPR application locally on their computers, but that they will not be able to import or export patient data before the approval has been received.
Cyber attacks are common in the NHS and wider health sector. Last month, NHS details of more than one million patientswere compromised in a ransomware attack on the University of Manchester.