Jefferies, a prominent financial institution, has highlighted the potential windfall for hospital operators such as HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare, and Community Health Systems, as a result of the recent cyber incident at Ascension, a U.S. healthcare giant.

Amidst the chaos unleashed by a crippling cyberattack on Ascension, which boasts a sprawling network of 140 hospitals across 19 states, the repercussions were severe. Ambulances had to be redirected from multiple hospitals within the network due to the breach of IT systems, including the critical access to electronic health records.

“Based on disclosures from Ascension & our local channel checks, the impact on healthcare delivery includes the cancellation/delay of elective procedures & substantial delays in non-emergency care, with several hospitals forced to redirect emergency cases elsewhere,” noted Brian Tanquilut, an analyst at Jefferies, encapsulating the ordeal.

In the wake of this cyber fiasco, the market braced itself for a domino effect. For instance, R1 RCM, a critical revenue generator deriving 40% of its net services revenue from Ascension, saw a negative impact, resulting in a dip in its shares. This ripple effect serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of the healthcare sector to cyber threats.

Interestingly, this incident isn’t an isolated one. Back in March, Moody’s, a leading credit rating agency, expressed concerns about the potential credit implications for U.S. medical providers in light of a similar cybersecurity breach at UnitedHealth’s health tech unit, Change Healthcare, emphasizing the reverberating impact of such incidents across the industry.