Health care business finds solution to cyberattack | News

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – If you’ve been struggling to get your prescriptions because of a cyber attack last week, the end may finally be in sight.

Change Healthcare said they have found a solution.

 The company announced they have set up a new prescription prescribing service that they hope will fix the problem.

“It really made it a nightmare,” Michell Zulu, the chief operating officer of Good Shepherd Pharmacy in Memphis, said.

It’s been a trying week for pharmacists like Zulu. She’s navigating how to get medication to patients after a cyber attack targeting a network from Change Healthcare.

“Explaining to a patient that has just gotten really bad news and needs to get their medication right away that it’s going to be $800 versus a $20 copay, that’s a tough place to be put in,” she said.

Change Healthcare handles orders and patient payments. 

The company said it first noticed the issue Feb. 21, and confirmed it was a ransomware attack.

The attack knocked out services that directly affect patient care, including eligibility verifications and pharmacy payments.

Nine days later, the company announced they set up a new script routing service that hopefully will solve the problem.

“What I think this is, once again, is that the healthcare industry is being targeted,” Melanie Suria, the owner and founder of Memphis Computer Support said. “In the healthcare industry, cyberattacks have risen, and actually they’re double what the financial industry is seeing,” she said. 

Cyber security experts like Suria said even with the service, patient information may still be at risk.

“Probably one out of three people are actually victims of this, because this time, this is the biggest health care crisis that we’ve had out there with cyber security incidents,” she said.

FOX13 reached out to Walgreens and CVS for statements on the cyber attack.

Walgreens said the vast majority of their prescriptions were not impacted, but they had procedures in place so they could continue to process and fill the prescriptions that were.

CVS said the network interruption did impact some of their operations, but they also had plans in place to minimize disruption in service.

Change Healthcare says their new service is now up and running for all customers, but if you have any issues, you can contact them.