18 May 2021

FODO Ireland member alert: Cyberattack - effects on eye care

You will be very aware of the devastating impacts of last Friday's cyberattack on the healthcare system, the Health Service Executive, PCRS and the Department of Health. In response, we have offered our help to the Department of Health and HSE to ensure patients do not miss out on eye care during what is likely to be a lengthy recovery period. 

We have explained to the HSE the challenges you and your patients are facing in terms of:  

• HSE offices not being able to approve applications for eye tests and dispenses without the IT system
• Restrictions on providing eye care services without prior HSE approval
• The impossibility of submitting claims via the HSE portal 
• Risks that contractors may now have missed the monthly submission window to be paid next month
• The risk of submitted claims having been lost, leading to non-payment or needing to be resubmitted.

We have written jointly with AOI colleagues, copied to IADO, to propose temporary arrangements to enable eye care contractors to continue providing services and be paid until the IT systems are restored.   

We will keep you updated as soon as we have any news.

In the meantime, we are here to support you in any way we can. If there are any issues you would like to share or think we should be aware of while seeking a national solution, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].