A new report and physician analysis underscores that hospital cyberattacks are turning into immediate clinical disruptions—tying together evidence from real incidents and a popular TV depiction of an emergency department being shut down. Authors cite that electronic health records, lab orders, and radiology systems fail when hospital networks go offline, delaying diagnoses and treatment. The analysis points to a surge in ransomware events: Comparitech recorded 445 ransomware attacks on hospitals and clinics in 2025, a new peak after several years of annual increases. It also notes that show-like “missed life-threatening diagnosis” scenarios have parallels in real-world closures and outages. The implication for higher education is direct: medical schools, teaching hospitals, and affiliated clinics face heightened compliance and continuity-planning requirements for cybersecurity readiness, including training, incident response, and vendor access controls.