Dr Simon Wallace, chief clinical information officer at Microsoft, revealed that a global IT outage impacting healthcare services was traced back to antivirus firm CrowdStrike.
Addressing attendees at the Digital Health Summer Schools on July 18, 2024, Wallace explained, “The issue has been attributed to a third-party antivirus company known as CrowdStrike Falcon, affecting Windows virtual machines.”
He assured, “Microsoft is actively addressing the problem with mitigation processes in place to resolve it promptly.”
Although timelines were not provided, Wallace mentioned receiving regular updates on the situation.
The IT outage, which began on the evening of July 18, caused disruptions to various sectors including healthcare, banking, and airports.
NHS England confirmed on July 19, 2024, that the outage was impacting EMIS, a crucial system used by GP practices and pharmacies for various patient services.
Despite the disruption, measures were in place to manage the situation with paper records and manual prescriptions as alternatives.
There was no reported impact on emergency services.
CrowdStrike clarified that the issue was due to a defect in a single Windows update and assured that Mac and Linux hosts were unaffected.
GP practices nationwide took to social media platforms to inform patients about the IT disruptions caused by the outage.
Local healthcare centers like Wilmslow Health Centre and Ellergreen Medical Centre in Liverpool alerted patients about the software issue affecting their clinical systems.
Organizations like the National Pharmacy Association were actively working to address the disruptions and requested patience from patients.
EMIS acknowledged the third-party issue causing the outage and assured that efforts were underway to restore service.
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