CLEVELAND, Ohio — University Hospitals is keeping its MyChart patient portal and other digital services offline heading into Monday after the Cleveland-based health system detected unusual activity on its servers and disconnected its systems from the internet as a precaution.
The system said it first reported internet connectivity problems affecting multiple systems on Thursday, Oct. 22, before disclosing the unusual server activity on Friday. A notice on the UH website warned that only limited services were available and directed patients with questions about test results or appointments to contact their provider’s office directly.
“While there is currently no impact to patient care delivery, certain digital services are offline while we investigate,” a UH spokesperson said in a statement to Becker’s Hospital Review. The spokesperson said UH activated its response protocols, took the systems offline out of an abundance of caution, and is working around the clock to address the issue.
UH has not said whether the activity was a cyberattack, and it has not identified all of the systems or facilities affected. The health system told WJW it is working with outside experts to determine the scope of the problem and its effects on hospital and outpatient operations, and it has not said when digital services will be fully restored.
MyChart normally allows patients to view health information, schedule appointments and communicate with their care teams. While the portal remains unavailable, UH directed people seeking to schedule appointments to call 866-844-2273, and its website listed telephone contacts for patient referrals, transfers and billing questions.
UH said it anticipates digital service disruptions may continue for the next few days. The system operates 18 hospitals, according to Becker’s, and completed its transition to Epic in 2023, converting 5.6 million patient records and scheduling systems into a single electronic health record.
For patients across Northeast Ohio, the practical guidance has not changed since Friday: care itself continues, but anything that normally runs through MyChart or the website should go by phone instead. Patients with questions about results, appointments or other information should call their provider’s office directly until UH announces that its digital services are back.
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