The coming split of North County’s Graybill and Palomar Health medical groups will force about 45,000 patients to make a decision: Follow their doctors to different medical offices or stay put and be seen by someone new. This conundrum is prompted by Graybill, a respected provider of primary care since 1932, notifying Palomar in August that it would terminate a management services agreement with the public health care district, citing “inadequate support and response to the aftermath of the May 2024 cyber attack directed against Palomar Health Medical Group.” The attack shut down both organization’s computer systems, including digital phone services, making electronic medical records inaccessible for months and forcing staff to document everything from appointments to prescriptions with pen and paper.
“The breach and the inability to have all critical functions restored has hindered our group’s ability to deliver essential medical services to our patients,” said Dr. Kelly Boyatt, a Graybill family medicine specialist in a statement issued by the organization. The two sides disagree on the extent to which the aftermath of the data incursion was resolved, with Graybill saying “critical functions (are) still not fully restored,” and Palomar saying that “operations have been fully and safely restored.
” Palomar Health responded in its own statement late Wednesday afternoon, denying sole responsibility for the response to the data breach incident. “Graybill .
