Most/all pharmacies limit pts taking controlled meds to only being able to get a refill early anywhere from 1 to 3 days early. This article stated that pharmacies not having access to submitting bills to a PBM and got SIX DAYS BEHIND in filling prescriptions. It is just not pts taking controlled meds, there are a lot of high-acuity pts that being without their medication can dramatically compromise their QOL or even be life-threatening.
How many days is it going to take for these pharmacies to catch up from being SIX DAYS BEHIND? Even if they bring “all hands on deck” 24/7 until things are caught up. There are going to be a lot of overtime hours involved in doing this. Was United Healthcare, OptumRx, or the PBM at fault for not having state-of-the-art network protection processes in place?
Could some pharmacies end up buying DOUBLE the amounts of controls that they normally do in a 7-10 day period and the wholesaler’s computer could start throwing some red flags and delete some of the pharmacies’ orders for controlled meds. Further complicating the problems of high acuity pts and their inability to get their necessary meds?
If some of the high acuity pts end up with a hospital stay and many of these high acuity pts are on Medicare or Medicaid, so we taxpayers are going to end up picking up the tab for these healthcare costs.
US pharmacy outage triggered by ‘Blackcat’ ransomware at UnitedHealth unit, sources say
https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/cyber-security-outage-change-healthcare-continues-sixth-straight-day-2024-02-26/
WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Hackers working for the ‘Blackcat’ ransomware gang are behind the outage at UnitedHealth’s (UNH.N) technology unit that has snarled prescription deliveries for six days, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
The problems began last week after hackers gained access to Change Healthcare’s information technology systems and has led to disruptions at pharmacies across the United States.
Change Healthcare and UnitedHealth did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Blackcat, also known as “ALPHV,” did not immediately respond when asked whether it was responsible.
Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) cybersecurity unit Mandiant is handling the investigation into the breach, the two people said. In a statement, Mandiant confirmed it “has been engaged in support of the incident response” but declined to comment further.
Blackcat is one of the most notorious of the internet’s many ransomware gangs – groups of cybercriminals who encrypt data to hold it hostage with the aim of securing massive payouts. It has previously struck major businesses including MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR.O)
In December, Blackcat was the subject of a takedown by U.S.-led international law enforcement, which seized several websites used by the group as well as hundreds of digital keys used to decrypt victims’ data.
The hackers had threatened to retaliate by extorting critical infrastructure providers and hospitals.
CISA, the U.S. cyber watchdog agency, and the FBI also did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
One expert said the news suggested that digital disruptions, while important, could not be counted on to knock ransomware groups out for good.
“It’s inevitable that if you have a group that’s making millions of bucks, they are going to attempt to make a comeback,” said Brett Callow, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft.
The allegation that Blackcat was behind the hack at Change Healthcare also raised questions about parent company UnitedHealth’s previous claim that it had been targeted by a “suspected nation-state associated cybersecurity threat actor.”
“I am not aware of any links between ALPHV and a nation state,” Callow said. “As far as I am aware they are financially motivated cybercriminals and nothing more.”
Reuters has not been able to gauge the full extent of the disruption.
A number of pharmacy chains, including CVS Health (CVS.N) and Walgreens (WBA.O) , have said the outage had knock-on effects on their businesses.
The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) said on Friday many pharmacies across the nation could not transmit insurance claims for their patients following the hack.
It said pharmacies were reporting “significant backlogs of prescriptions,” which they were unable to process.
Reporting by Raphael Satter and Christopher Bing in Washington; Additional reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shilpi Majumdar and Bill Berkrot
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THIS HAS BEEN A REAL PAIN IN THE ASS FOR THOSE OF US ,WHO’S PRESCRIPTION CAN’T BE PROCESS’S,,,I GOT 2 EMERGANCY FILLS,,3 DAYS,,HOWEVER THE NEXT EMERGANCY FILL WOULD OF ENDED ON A SATURDAY,,,MY PHARMACY IS CLIOSED ON THE WEEK-ENDS!!!!!FINALLY WE SAID,,IF I HAVE TO PAY CASH FOR THESE E.R REFILS,,WHY CAN’T WE PAY CASH FOR MY MONTHLY SCRIPTS,,,HELLO,,,KNOCK KNOCK,,,,,”OH YEA U SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT,” SO FINALLY AFTER 3 E.R REFILSS,,I GOT MY MOTHLY SCRIPT,,,2 WEEKS LATE,,,STILL OUR PHARMACY HAS NO IDEA WHEN THIS NITEMARE WILL END..BTW ,,THEY HAD TO MAIL MY SCRIPT THEE OLD FASHION WAY,,,FAX COPIES WERE NOT ACCEPTABLE,,,,WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ALL ARE NOW AFRAIF WE WILL ALL BE ,”RED FLAGGED,” FOR PAYING CASH,,,DEA A-HOLES,,,NO CLUE,,,WHY LAW 42-1395 WAS WRITTEN INTO LAW,,,MW
OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!