David Stone, Principal, Consulting Services, Divurgent
Quang Nguyen, Manager, Consulting Services, Divurgent
Saneel Vasram, Management Consultant, Gevity
In May 2017, the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom was crippled by the global WannaCry ransomware attack, which was thought to have been created by a group tied to North Korea. As the crisis stretched into days, 40 hospitals were locked out of their IT systems, 16 were shut down, surgeries were canceled, and caregivers were forced to treat patients without access to their medical records, lab tests, x-rays, or even information on allergies. Physicians reverted to pen and paper to document care. During the shutdown, the attackers demanded ransom payments. The crisis only ended after Microsoft created a security patch that remedied the problem.
NHS had been warned over the year leading up to the attack that their systems were vulnerable to ransomware attacks. This was in large part because NHS organizations in the UK were using an untold number of systems and applications running on Windows XP, which was an outdated, 16-year-old operating system at the time (Bodkin, et. al., 2017).
Luckily, nobody died, but the attack was estimated to cost the NHS at least £19 million in lost output and £73 million in IT costs during and after the attack (Department of Health and Social Care, 2018).
It had been a growing information security disaster waiting to happen for at least a decade, but it did not have to be. If IT managers had conducted an effective application rationalization program prior to the attack, it likely never would have happened.
Divurgent is a full-service, healthcare-focused/HIT consulting firm led by people you actually want to work with. We’re one of the only firms out there that has your back for the whole journey. We can help you select an EHR or tool, implement it, staff it, bring you live, optimize it, and more. Three-hundred sixty degrees. Most of our focus is on EHRs, but we do much more than that. We think beyond the system and below the surface. Think workflow, digital strategy, operational readiness, change management and more. We’re most excited by helping you solve your most complex challenges.
We Attract, Develop, and Retain Top Talent | Our team has been in your shoes. Our consultants have worked within health systems, across all levels, so we bring operational and clinical expertise to every role. We have experts in EHR implementation, analytics, digital strategy, project management, managed services, and more, and we can rapidly source talent that fits our client’s project and culture.
Our Methodology is Proven | Our methodology considers operational realities, health system structural dynamics, and change management to present tailored solutions that are data-driven, scalable, and primed for adoption. And it’s future-focused: we design based on where your organization is going, not where it is today.
We Do What’s Right and Can Do It Quickly | Since 2007, we’ve been privately-owned, healthcare-focused, and driven foremost by commitment to our clients. This independence allows us to be agile – team members are empowered to make critical decisions in real-time – and flexible. Our relationships are much greater than the value of our contracts.
