BANGOR, Maine — Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems experienced a temporary outage Monday that affected patient records and other internal systems at member hospitals and physician practices throughout the state.
A preliminary review indicated a power surge Monday morning caused computer equipment to fail at EMHS’ data center in Bangor, which serves the entire system, according to Kyle Johnson, EMHS chief information officer. Because of the outage, clinicians could not update electronic patient records Monday, instead recording information about visits and procedures on paper charts, she said. Patients’ electronic charts will be updated manually, Johnson said.
Clinicians still were able to view patient histories electronically, she said. Patient safety was maintained through the interruption, Johnson said.
All of the information systems were back online just before 6 p.m. Monday, according to EMHS officials.
“I thought our hospitals handled this very well,” Johnson said.
Email, billing and other internal systems also were down throughout EMHS, the parent organization to eight affiliated hospitals across the state, seven physician groups, home health agencies, nursing facilities and other health care facilities.
EMHS was continuing work to determine the root cause of the outage, Johnson said.
“At [Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor] all elective procedures are being considered on a case-by-case basis, with a focus on maintaining patient safety,” a statement from EMHS said.
“In the event of an outpatient procedure or appointment is canceled, staff members are reaching out to patients,” the hospital statement said.
In addition, Miller Drug was temporarily able to accept only cash because of the down time. The pharmacy’s payment system is now operational, EMHS officials said.
EMHS recently restructured its information systems department, leading to the elimination of more than 40 positions. Some of those slated to lose their jobs found other positions within the system. EMHS officials said the restructuring was unrelated to Monday’s outage and had no effect on efforts to get systems back online.
The outage also was unrelated to an ongoing strike by workers at FairPoint Communications, officials said.
BDN writer Dawn Gagnon contributed to this report.
