Healthcare Cyberattack Causes Pharmacy Delays: UnitedHealth Group Impact

Change Healthcare faces fourth-day outage post-cyberattack by UnitedHealth, causing nationwide prescription delays and emphasizing critical need for healthcare computer security.

Change Healthcare’s systems have been down for the fourth consecutive day after parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc. revealed a suspected cyberattack. The health tech company became aware of the outside threat on Wednesday morning and disconnected their systems as a precautionary measure for security purposes. As a result of the outage, Scheurer Health issued a statement indicating that they were unable to process prescriptions, causing delays for pharmacies nationwide. The cyberattack on UnitedHealth’s technology unit, Change Healthcare, has potential financial and reputational impacts, highlighting the importance of computer security in the healthcare industry.

Pharmacy Delays and Cybersecurity

The ongoing cyberattack on Change Healthcare has had significant consequences for pharmacy operations across the United States. Scheurer Family Pharmacy, along with numerous other pharmacies, has been unable to process prescriptions due to the nationwide outage caused by the cyberattack. This disruption has caused delays in healthcare services, impacting patients who rely on timely prescription processing. It is concerning that a major healthcare revenue and payment cycle management provider like Change Healthcare has fallen victim to a cyberattack, as it obstructs the digital transformation of the healthcare industry.

The Impact on UnitedHealth Group

Moody’s, a credit rating agency, has stated that the hack against UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary, Change Healthcare, is credit negative for the company. The cybersecurity attack poses potential financial and reputational risks for both UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare. This incident occurred at a critical time in the digital transformation of healthcare, where data breaches have become increasingly common. The attack on Change Healthcare highlights the urgent need for improved computer security measures in the healthcare sector to protect sensitive patient data from cybercriminals.

  • Change Healthcare’s systems have been down for the fourth day in a row after parent company UnitedHealth disclosed a suspected cyberattack.
  • Scheurer Health announced that due to the nationwide outage, they were unable to process prescriptions, causing delays for pharmacies nationwide.
  • Change Healthcare disconnected their systems upon becoming aware of the outside threat for security purposes.
  • The cyberattack on UnitedHealth’s technology unit has potential financial and reputational impacts, emphasizing the importance of computer security in the healthcare industry.
  • The hack against Change Healthcare obstructs the digital transformation of healthcare and hinders the timely processing of prescriptions.
  • The cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group is credit negative for the company, according to Moody’s.
  • Data breaches in the healthcare industry pose significant challenges to the digital transformation efforts.
  • The incident highlights the need for improved computer security measures to protect sensitive patient data.

Sources: Scheurer Family Pharmacy, Moody’s, TechCrunch, SC Media