Patient software used by many Ontario paramedics hit by potential cyberattack

The software used by thousands of paramedics across Ontario to store and transfer patient data is offline after being hit by a potential cyberattack.

A program called iMedic, used by a range of Ontario paramedic services including Peel, Kitchener and Hamilton, has been offline since Monday after “unauthorized access” was discovered, according to ESO, the company that owns the program.

Paramedics use the software to record patient data during calls and then transfer that information to doctors and nurses in hospitals to inform the care of patients brought in by ambulance.

In the temporary absence of the program, first responders are taking notes by hand, Ontario’s Ministry of Health says.

“The ministry has been in constant communication with our paramedicine partners while this issue is investigated,” a spokesperson for the province told Global News. “In the meantime, we have ensured patients can be processed though paper land ambulance call reports, and that the necessary forms are available.”

Paramedics are also still able to store digital patient notes on the tablet devices that iMedic runs on — but with the server offline, those notes cannot easily be transferred to hospitals and storage will eventually run out.

The cause of the cyber incident is not yet clear, but Andy Prince, a communications official with ESO, said that early evidence suggested no data had been breached and neither malware nor ransomware had been installed.

However, the company is exploring every possibility.

“We’re not ruling anything out at the moment in the process of discovery to figure out what actually happened,” Prince said.

While the cyber incident has impacted how paramedics do their job, Hamilton paramedics chief Michael Sanderson said patient care was not impacted.

“This service interruption does not affect the paramedic service ability to respond to 9-1-1 emergency calls,” he told Global News. “There is also no evidence thus far that any confidential information has been compromised or that there is a risk to local IT systems.”

Prince said the iMedic system is used by some 100 agencies across Ontario and noted the company does not yet have a timeline to bring it back online.

“I don’t anticipate months, I don’t even anticipate weeks,” he said. “We’re obviously hopeful that it’s sooner than later.”

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