Brigitte Carlson closely watched her son’s baseball practice, feeling frustrated by her recent experience with Palomar Health Medical Group. The women’s clinic in Escondido had turned her away when she arrived for her doctor’s appointment.
“There was a second receptionist at the desk who said, ‘I understand because we’re not providing proper patient care,’ and I said, ‘You’re right. You’re not. You’re absolutely not,'” Carlson recounted.
Carlson wrote a letter to the medical group’s chief legal officer, urging them to improve patient care regardless of cybersecurity issues. She expressed that her concerns were not only personal.
“I think a lot of women are working, and they have kids, and they don’t have time to be driving back and forth to get an appointment and then to have it canceled,” she told NBC 7.
Thomas Weir also shared his struggles. He and his wife drive 35 miles each way from Warner Springs for medical care. Recently, his wife faced difficulties when trying to change doctors and obtain her health records.
“She requested her health records because she was changing doctors but was told, ‘We can’t do that. We can’t give you your records.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because they’re all computerized,'” Weir explained.
NBC 7 reached out to Palomar Health Medical Group, asking how long their systems would be down and if patients could access their records. They also shared Carlson’s letter with the group’s chief legal officer. The only response received was an email stating: “We do not have any updates.”
Over a month ago, the medical group told NBC 7 Responds that third-party specialists were addressing suspicious activity on its computer system. They assured that they were committed to patient care while working to resolve the issue. However, patients said communication has been minimal since then.
“You have to be responsive to your customer, your client, your patient, especially in the medical profession,” Carlson emphasized.
She added that the lack of communication added to her frustration, making it hard to enjoy simple activities like her son’s baseball practice.
A patient shared a letter with NBC 7 Responds that he received from Palomar Health Medical Group on May 21, 2024. The letter stated that the group continues to provide lab results, radiology reports, specialist referrals, and patient messages via secure inbound fax. It also mentioned that doctors have limited access to medical records through temporary programs.
To clarify, the Palomar Health District was not affected by this cybersecurity incident. Only Palomar Health Medical Group was impacted.
