What happens when a healthcare system is hit by a cyberattack? Hospitals sever connections to their online systems. As a result, electronic health records systems, patient portals (which enable patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers), phone systems, and various systems used to order certain tests, procedures, and medications become unavailable. Non-emergent procedures, tests, and appointments are paused. Staff don’t have patient orders and can’t page doctors. Medical, nursing, and clinical teams have to utilize manual processes or documentation methods that they moved away from 20 years ago. Switching to paper records and processing everything by hand, are again in place for various clinical activities, such as dispensing medication, inputting health records, ordering, and completing diagnostic tests and procedures. It's a disaster you never want to face.