A suspected cyber hack has disrupted a nationwide digital medication platform forcing care providers to revert to manual processes as investigations continue.

The system, MediMap, confirmed it was unavailable across New Zealand, with the company saying its team was investigating the cause as a priority.

MediMap Director Geoffrey Sayer told chrislynchmedia.com that on Sunday, the company identified “unauthorised activity within our system that resulted in some patients’ demographic records being incorrectly modified within the MediMap platform.”

“MediMap is a digital medication management platform used widely across New Zealand to streamline prescribing, pharmacy dispensing, and medication administration in care environments such as aged residential care, disability services, hospices, and community health.”

“As soon as we became aware of the issue, we engaged specialist external cyber experts and placed the platform into maintenance mode as a precautionary measure to protect patient safety. Our focus is on helping facilities to provide continuation of care, and then on remediation and safe restoration” Sayer said.

“Customers have reverted to their standard alternative manual processes to ensure patients continue to receive the required levels of care they should expect. Our preliminary investigation indicates that the incident has affected certain demographic information, such as resident name, date of birth, assigned prescriber, location of care and resident status” Sayer said.

“Health NZ is in contact with MediMap to provide support and understand the scope of the issue, and we have notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and NZ Police. We will continue to engage with relevant authorities as appropriate. We are continuing to investigate the impact on patient data while implementing a safe restoration pathway.

“We are committed to keeping our all our customers and stakeholders informed as our investigation progresses and will continue to provide updates via our website. We understand our platform is critical to aged care and healthcare across New Zealand, and we sincerely apologise for the disruption and concern this situation has caused.

Health NZ responds

Acting Chief Information Technology Officer Digital Services Darren Douglass told chrislynchmedia.com “Health New Zealand is aware that MediMap, a privately owned medication management platform, is currently experiencing an IT issue.

“We are in contact with MediMap to understand the impact and scope of the issue.”

Health Minster’s office responds

A spokeswoman from Health Minister Simeon Brown’s office said “the Minister was advised yesterday of an IT issue affecting MediMap, a private company. Health New Zealand is in contact with the provider to understand the situation and its impact.”

What does the Privacy Commission say?

A spokesman for the Office of the Privacy Commission said “ under the Privacy Act 2020, if an organisation or business has a privacy breach that either has caused or is likely to cause anyone serious harm, they must notify the Privacy Commissioner and any affected people as soon as they are practically able: https://www.privacy.org.nz/responsibilities/privacy-breaches/. OPC would expect it to be an organisation or business who would provide any detail they would want to share in such a situation.”

Aged Care Association Chief Executive Tracey Martin said she was contacted by affected members on Sunday evening.

“Since that time, they have been forwarding to me the communications issued by MediMap over the preceding 36 hours, as MediMap has not contacted the Association directly,” Martin said.

“MediMap is a business system choice made by individual providers to manage resident medication and clinical information. There is no obligation on vendors to provide information to the Association, and we rely on members to keep us informed where issues arise.

“My understanding is that MediMap is a commonly used system within aged residential care, and usage may be as high as approximately 60% of the sector, although we do not hold precise data on vendor uptake,” she said.

Martin said members had been instructed to move to manual processes while the issue was resolved.

“Members have advised that MediMap instructed them to revert to manual, paper based medication systems while the issue is being resolved. While this is more time consuming for staff, we are being told that it is functioning in practice and providers have activated their standard clinical safety and contingency procedures,” she said.

“The Association is not aware of any confirmed cases of patient records being deliberately altered to change prescribed medications. We have not received any information indicating that medications have been incorrectly administered as a result of the current system suspension. Members are understandably seeking further clarity from MediMap regarding the nature of the issue, the remediation plan, and the timeframe for full restoration of the system with confidence in its accuracy,” Martin said.

She said providers were also dealing with concerned families seeking reassurance.

“Providers are also managing inquiries from families who are seeking reassurance that their loved ones continue to receive medications as prescribed. At this stage, members are relying on their established clinical governance and medication management processes while the digital system remains offline,” Martin said.