Cyberattack Causes Delays for Millions of US Pharmacies

The American Hospital Association (AHA) cautioned health care facilities to disconnect and run system checks after a cyberattack on February 21 affected dozens of systems at Change Healthcare, one of the largest national commercial prescription processors.  

The cyberattack was confirmed by UnitedHealth Group, owner of Change Healthcare and Optum, in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  

“The company in the filing said it suspected a nation-state was behind the attack,” reported the Wall Street Journal. “The company said it took steps to disconnect its systems after identifying the attack, and that it can’t estimate how long the disruption will last.”  

The AHA urges health care organizations affected by or potentially at risk from the cyberattack to remain disconnected from Optum until it is “independently deemed safe to reconnect”. Members are also encouraged to test their data backups, check critical patches, and prepare staff to shift to manual processes. 

More than 67,000 pharmacies and 129 million individual customers rely on Optum for care and prescription processing. Military pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals worldwide under the US military’s health care provider Tricare already have reported disruption due to the cyberattack and delays as prescriptions are filled manually.  

“Many local retail pharmacies have warned of delays and an inability to send orders through insurance plans,” reported the Wall Street Journal.  

Reference

Rundle J, Nash KS. Hospitals urged to disconnect From UnitedHealth’s hacked pharmacy unit. WSJ. Published February 22, 2024. Accessed February 23, 2024. www.wsj.com/articles/hospitals-urged-to-disconnect-from-unitedhealths-hacked-pharmacy-unit-11c9691e