U.S. Pharmacies Face Nationwide Cyberattack
Pharmacies across the U.S. reported problems meeting prescription requirements following a cyberattack against a major healthcare technology provider, UnitedHealth. Find out about the incident and its impact on healthcare orders and payments.
- U.S. pharmacies have reported several instances of difficulty filling patient prescriptions following cyberattacks on a subsidiary of UnitedHealth.
- The company disclosed details about the attack that lasted a couple of days in a regulatory filing to the SEC.
Pharmacies across the U.S. reported delays in fulfilling prescription orders due to a major cyberattack that affected UnitedHealth operations nationwide. The problem was first noticed by Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, managing patient payments and orders nationwide, forcing the company to temporarily disconnect systems to mitigate the attack’s impact.
Following the notice by Change Healthcare, tens of thousands of pharmacies across the nation sent out notices notifying about disruptions to the processing of patient prescription orders. However, information about the nature of the attack or the state of cybersecurity associated with the healthcare technology provider was kept private.
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While the attack did not stop patients from sending their prescriptions, it affected how pharmacies were billing payments to associated insurance companies, affecting the delivery of prescription medications. Change Healthcare also disclosed details in a regulatory SEC filing.
The filing states that the company suspects the involvement of nation-state threat actors behind the attack. Law enforcement, including the FBI, CISA, and the Department of Health and Human Services, have been reportedly notified about the incident.
Several pharmacies have resorted to providing emergency prescriptions to tide patients over the problem. The incident highlights the growing threat of nation-state cybercriminals and the number of ransomware attacks that have plagued U.S. healthcare networks and hospitals in recent years.
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