Cyberattack slows military prescriptions
Clinics in S.A., worldwide affected; long waits possible
A cyberattack has interfered with the filling of prescriptions for military personnel and their families in San Antonio and around the world.
The Defense Health Agency, which oversees military hospitals and clinics around the world, said hackers this week hit the nation’s largest commercial prescription processor, Change Healthcare, a unit of Unitedhealthcare. Military clinics worldwide were affected.
The health agency serves 9.6 million beneficiaries, including active-duty soldiers, reservists, retirees and dependents.
The agency said it had temporarily stopped dispensing routine prescriptions while continuing to fill urgent prescriptions for antibiotics and medications for pain, diabetes and high blood pressure.
“As soon as safety measures could be assured and to minimize the impact for our patients with other routine and new prescriptions, our pharmacy teams returned to dispensing all prescriptions through a manual process until the system is back online,” DHA spokeswoman Elaine Sanchez said.
Still, beneficiaries were told to expect lengthy delays in filling nonurgent prescriptions.
The health agency did not say who is thought to have orchestrated the cyberattack. It wasn’t clear precisely how many pharmacy patients in San Antonio or elsewhere were affected or whether their personal health information was compromised.
The attack on Change Healthcare had effects that went beyond the military, though it was unclear to what extent. CVS Health, which owns the CVS retail pharmacy chain and Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager, said it was unable to process insurance claims “in certain cases” because of the cyberattack. The company shared no details but said it was continuing to fill
“Due to a vendor network interruption, prescription pharmacy claims continue to fail at all DOD facilities.”
Statement from Joint Base San Antonio
prescriptions.
“There is no indication that CVS Health’s systems have been compromised,” CVS said in a statement. “We’re committed to ensuring access to care as we navigate through this interruption. We have business continuity plans in place to minimize disruption of service and apologize for any inconvenience our customers and members may experience.”
Among military institutions disrupted by the hack was the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-lackland. It is the Defense Department’s largest such facility and offers primary, specialty and outpatient care.
“Due to a vendor network interruption, prescription pharmacy claims continue to fail at all DOD facilities,” JBSA said in a statement Thursday. “For URGENT medication requests, please come to the WHASC pharmacy lobby. Routine medications will be processed when the system is back online.”
In an update Friday addressed to “Valued Patients,” the joint base said, “thank you for your flexibility as DOD pharmacy operations were recently impacted by a reported cyberattack.”
The statement said beneficiaries could activate routine prescriptions by texting “Get in Line” to 833-517-4408 or by calling 210-916-1536 and selecting option 2. For urgent requests, beneficiaries were advised to go to the WHASC pharmacy in person.
“We anticipate extended wait times as we work to restore operations,” the statement said.
Also affected by the cyberattack was Fort Cavazos near Killeen, the nation’s largest activeduty armored military post.
The fort told beneficiaries who rely on the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center that “extended wait periods are expected” until the computerized prescription system is up and running again. Beneficiaries were advised that in the meantime, outpatient prescriptions would be filled through a manual process and priority would be given to medically urgent orders.
The Defense Health Agency said Change Healthcare disconnected its systems Wednesday to prevent hackers from accessing patient information. It said military clinics and hospitals would provide outpatient prescriptions through a manual process until the problem is resolved.
The agency warned that pharmacies would take longer than usual to fill prescriptions and urged patients to contact their clinics or retail prescription providers for updates.
“Each military hospital and clinic will continue to offer pharmacy operations based on their local manning and resources,” the statement said.