Change Healthcare's UnitedHealth Group is the latest healthcare organization to fall victim to a cyberattack. Several local pharmacies and health systems say the impact of the attack has been minimal.
According to healthcare technology company Change Healthcare, it suffered a cyber attack on February 21st.
“After becoming aware of the external threat, to protect our partners and patients, we took immediate action to disconnect our systems to prevent further impact. At this time, this matter has been resolved with Change Healthcare. We believe this is unique to all other systems operating across UnitedHealth Group,'' the company posted on its website.
Change Healthcare asked patients and partners using its services to disconnect while it investigated the attack.
The company released the following statement regarding the attack:
“Change Healthcare faces cybersecurity issues and our experts are working to address this issue. To protect our partners and patients, as we become aware of external threats, we At this time, we believe this issue is specific to Change Healthcare and that all other systems across UnitedHealth Group remain operational. You can The disruption is expected to last at least the rest of the day. We will provide updates as more information becomes available. ”
News 5 reached out to multiple local pharmacies and hospitals to find out how the attacks have affected them.
“We understand that Change Healthcare has experienced a network disruption that is impacting certain business operations at CVS Health, as well as operations at other companies across the country. We are working hard to ensure access.'' Please note that we are working hard to ensure access through this disruption. We have business continuity plans in place to minimize service interruptions, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our customers and members. We will continue to fill prescriptions, but in some cases we may not be able to process your prescription. Our business continuity plan addresses insurance claims to ensure continued access to medicines for patients. ”
CVS
“Thank you for contacting us. Yes, we are aware of the cyber issue with Change Healthcare. Cleveland Clinic pharmacies continue to accept patient prescriptions.”
cleveland clinic
“The vast majority of our pharmacy operations and prescriptions are unaffected by this third-party issue. For the small number of people who may be affected, we have We have procedures in place to ensure we can continue to process and fill prescriptions.”
Walgreen's
“We are adjusting and using other systems so pharmacies can continue to process strips and customers will not experience any issues. We hope that helps.”
meyer
This is not the first time hackers have attacked the healthcare system.
In November 2023, Ardent Health Services was involved in a cyberattack.
Related: Hospital systems operating in six states fall victim to cyberattacks
