Pharmacies across the country are reporting delays in prescription orders due to a cyberattack on the nation’s largest healthcare technology company.
Change Healthcare, a company that processes orders and patient payments across the United States, first became aware of a “cybersecurity issue” impacting its network on the East Coast Wednesday morning.
“Change Healthcare has experienced network interruptions related to cybersecurity issues, and our experts are working to resolve this issue. Once we become aware of external threats, we are working to protect our partners and patients. “As a result, we took immediate steps to disconnect the system to prevent further impact,” Change Healthcare said in a statement.
It added: “We will provide updates as further information becomes available.”
Pharmacies across the country have issued notices saying the attack on Change Healthcare has disrupted their ability to process patient orders.
“At 22nd Medical Group, our pharmacies are temporarily closed. We understand this may cause you some inconvenience, and we are working hard to resolve the issue. Thank you for your patience. “Our team is working to restore full pharmacy services as quickly as possible.” The post says:
“The estimated resolution date for this issue is tomorrow. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on our progress.”
There are currently no publicly available reports regarding the nature or causes of the cybersecurity issues plaguing Change Healthcare.
“Some of North America’s largest prescription processors are experiencing a nationwide outage,” Michigan-based Canadian Lakes Pharmacy wrote on social media Wednesday.
The announcement went on to say, “You can receive your RX, but for most insurance plans we cannot claim it from your insurance company. If you’re willing to wait a day or so to receive your RX, that’s great. If you need it now, we will do our best to accommodate your individual needs.”
A spokesperson for CVS pharmacy chain told Fox Business that the company is aware of the outage, but “there is no indication that CVS Health’s systems were compromised.”
“We are aware that Change Healthcare is experiencing network disruptions that are impacting certain business operations and those of other companies across the country,” the spokesperson said. “There is no evidence that CVS Health’s systems were compromised.”
The statement continued: “We are committed to ensuring access to care as we navigate this disruption. We have business continuity plans in place to minimize service disruptions. We apologize for any inconvenience our customers and members may experience. While we continue to fill prescriptions, in some cases we may not be able to process your insurance claim. We are working on our business continuity plan to ensure continued availability of medicines.
The outage is expected to last until Friday, but Change Healthcare has not released a final schedule for service resumption.
