By now, many of you are aware of a cyberattack that has affected Change Healthcare’s ability to communicate with pharmacies. Change Healthcare is a technology company used by many pharmacies; their technology helps pharmacies know how much to charge consumers at the pharmacy counter. As a result of this, many pharmacies throughout America could not transmit insurance claims for their patients. This is resulting in delays in getting prescriptions filled. As of Friday afternoon, the situation was still not resolved and pharmacies across the nation are reporting significant backlogs of prescriptions they are unable to process.
Pharmacies rely on companies like Change Healthcare to help process your insurance claims, but please note that not all pharmacies are impacted. Check with your pharmacy before you head there.
What we ask of you is patience – pharmacists are working overtime to continue their work, to treat patients, and to do this in as timely a fashion as possible.
If you are out of your medicine, talk with your pharmacist. They may be able to give you a few doses to carry you over until the cybersecurity issue is resolved.
If you have a new prescription or you need a refill, but have enough for a few days, check with the pharmacy to see if they are able to fill it right now. If they cannot, please be patient and check back when the cybersecurity issue is resolved.
We know this is a frustrating time for patients. It’s also a challenging and frustrating time for pharmacists, as well, because anything that compromises their ability to provide care will always prove frustrating.
“This situation may take several days to resolve, so in the meantime, we would ask the public to please keep in mind the incredible extra stress this situation places on pharmacies and pharmacy personnel,” said Michael D. Hogue, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, FFIP, executive vice president and CEO of APhA. If you have urgent prescriptions or are out of medication, please talk with your pharmacist about possible solutions.