LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — Akumin, a South Florida-based outpatient radiology and oncology company, has shut down its computer system, leaving patients unable to get scans and doctors unable to see images for diagnosis.
Akumin does business with medical scans and radiology services for about 1,000 hospitals and health systems in 48 states. It has offices in Lake Worth Beach, Wellington and Boca Raton. Its headquarters are in Plantation.
At the Lake Worth Beach Akumin, Saul Rivera couldn't help his ailing wife.
"My wife, I (try to) make an appointment, that's all and I don't make an appointment or nothing," Rivera said.
Outside the front door of Akumin's Lake Worth Beach office, a sign warns patients, "…we've had a security incident with our systems. Out of caution, we have shut our systems down. We can't see you for your appointment at this time, but we will call to reschedule your appointment as soon as our systems are back up…"
The Dow Jones News Service reports Akumin was victimized by of a ransomware attack last week.
"Ugh…this is a nightmare in my world," cybersecurity expert Alan Crowetz, owner of Infostream, said.
He said patients are likely worried their medical or personal information has been breached, adding there could be consequences if doctors have to wait to see a patient’s X-rays or scans.
"You've been waiting with a potentially serious medical condition at a minimum," Crowetz said, "something you haven't been diagnosed."
Saul Rivera hopes Akumin has its systems up and running soon.
"My wife, they detected a little cyst in her stomach," he said.
WPTV has been trying to get answers from Akumen and we have made calls and sent emails to Akumen's corporate headquarters, but so far the company hasn't responded.