A recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a firm that handles prescriptions, disrupted many Americans’ pharmaceutical deliveries. On February 21, ransomware impacted eligibility verification and pharmacy payments, causing delays and annoyance for patients and pharmacists statewide.
Navigating Challenges Week:
Memphis pharmacist Michell Zulu, the COO of Good Shepherd Pharmacy, navigated the disruption for a week. “It really made it a nightmare,” she said, noting the difficulty of explaining the outage to patients who needed medication promptly but paid more.
Scope of Attack:
Change Healthcare mediates between providers, pharmacists, and insurance. This information flow was disrupted by the cyberattack, preventing pharmacy-insurer payments and insurance coverage verification.
A Possible Solution:
On March 2, Change Healthcare launched a script routing service to resolve the assault after nine days. This solution restores communication and streamlines prescription processing.
Increased Healthcare Vulnerability:
However, Memphis Computer Support owner and creator Melanie Suria, a cybersecurity specialist, worries about the wider effects of such hacks. “This, once again, is the healthcare industry being targeted,” she says, emphasizing the worrying rise in cyberattacks on this sector. Suria claims the healthcare industry has twice as many cyberattacks as the financial industry, raising concerns about healthcare system vulnerability.
Continuing Risk:
Despite the new service, Suria warns that patient data may be at risk. “Probably one out of three people are actually victims of this,” she says, representing the attack’s potential reach. The incident emphasizes the necessity for strong healthcare cybersecurity to protect patient data.
Retail Pharmacy Reaction:
Walgreens and CVS reported modest disruptions from the attack, which is currently being assessed. Walgreens stated that most prescriptions were unaffected, while CVS recognized operational issues but stressed their contingency planning to minimize service disruptions.
Change Healthcare guarantees the new service to all consumers. However, they recommend contacting them for prescription help or questions.
This incident highlights the growing susceptibility of vital infrastructure to hackers and the necessity for strong patient data protection and ongoing medical services. To reduce patient concern and annoyance, companies and healthcare providers must communicate clearly during disruptions.
