Prescription Delays Nationwide After Cyberattack

Pharmacies all over the U.S. are facing delays in prescription orders due to a cyberattack on a major healthcare technology company, and many are being negatively affected.

Change Healthcare, a crucial player in managing orders and patient payments, discovered the cybersecurity issue affecting its networks early Wednesday morning on the East Coast.

In response, the company swiftly disconnected its systems to prevent further impact, stating that experts are actively working to address the matter. However, it has yet to disclose the nature or origin of the cybersecurity issue.

This disruption has rippled across pharmacies nationwide, affecting their ability to process patients’ orders efficiently. Various pharmacies have posted notices informing customers about the temporary outage and urging patience as they work to resolve the issue.

For instance, the 22nd Medical Group, stationed around McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, has notified its patients of the inconvenience and assured them of its efforts to restore complete pharmacy services as soon as possible.

Similarly, Michigan-based Canadian Lakes Pharmacy took to social media to alert customers about the outage and its impact on insurance billing, advising those who can wait to pick up their prescriptions to do so.

While CVS, a major pharmacy chain, acknowledged the outages, it emphasized that its systems remain uncompromised. “We’re committed to ensuring access to care as we navigate through this interruption,” a spokesperson stated. “We have business continuity plans in place to minimize disruption of service and apologize for any inconvenience our customers and members may experience. We’re continuing to fill prescriptions but in certain cases, we are not able to process insurance claims, which our business continuity plan is addressing to ensure patients continue to have access to their medications.”

The exact timeline for resolving the service outage remains uncertain, with expectations that it may last until Friday.

As pharmacies and healthcare providers navigate through this challenge, they continue to prioritize patient care and strive to minimize inconvenience despite the disruptions caused by the cyberattack.