SAN DIEGO- It’s been five weeks since Palomar Health Medical Group (PHMG) was hit with a cybersecurity issue that forced them to go offline.
From the sidelines, Briggitte Carlson watched her son’s baseball practice, but behind her smile she carried anger against PHMG that canceled her medical appointment at a women’s clinic in Escondido.
“There was a second receptionist who said to me, ‘I understand because we’re not providing adequate medical care to the patients,’ and I told her, ‘You’re right, they’re not doing that at all,” said Carlson, who is an attorney.
He said he sent a letter to the legal affairs director of the unfathomable medical group asking them to review and improve the health care they provide to their patients, regardless of the cybersecurity problem they may have. She assured that the letter was also written with other patients in mind.
“I think a lot of people work and have kids, so they don’t have time to drive back and forth to appointments only to have them cancelled,” Carlson said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Weir of Warner Springs said it has been a headache for him and his wife having to drive 35 miles to receive substandard medical care. He pointed out that it has been difficult for them to change doctors.
“We asked them for our medical records that legally belong to us and they said, ‘We can’t give them to you because they’re on our computers,’” Weir said.
Telemundo 20 Response sent an email to PHMG to ask them, among other things, how much longer they expect their digital systems to be offline and whether patients have access to their records. However, the only response we got was: “We don’t have any updates.”
A patient sent Telemundo 20 Responde a letter he received from PMHG on May 21, 2024 informing him that they continue to provide laboratory results, radiology reports, and recommendations to specialists through a secure fax service. He also informed them that doctors have limited access to medical records using temporary programs.
In a statement sent to Telemundo 20 Responde more than a month ago, PHMG said that independent specialists were dealing with suspicious activity that arose in their digital system and that they remain committed to caring for their patients while resolving the issue. Some patients told us that they have not received any information regarding the cybersecurity incident.
“They have to respond to the customer, to the patient, especially in a medical industry,” Carlson said, continuing to watch his son’s baseball practice.
It is important to clarify that Palomar Health District was not affected by the cybersecurity incident according to reports from Palomar Health Medical Group.
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