Military Pharmacies Restored to Full Operations After Change Healthcare Cyberattack

Photo By Senior Airman Melody Bordeaux | Last month, a reported cyberattack on the nation’s largest commercial prescription processor impacted military clinics and hospitals worldwide, as well as some retail pharmacies. In response, the 59th Medical Wing's Pharmacy team at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland implemented emergency plans to continue serving patients and provide medical support to the United States Air Force's basic training mission. Additionally, they assisted other Military Treatment Facility pharmacies during the initial stages of the event to find solutions to problems the cyberattack caused. Ultimately, the pharmacy never stopped providing medical care, dispensing over 70,000 prescriptions during the downtime, with more being added each day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melody Bordeaux).  

FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

04.11.2024

Courtesy Story

Defense Health Agency

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Military pharmacies have returned to normal operations after a cyberattack in February. This attack was on the nation’s largest commercial prescription processor, Change Healthcare (CHC).

On Feb. 21, CHC disconnected its systems due to a breach in their network. This outage temporarily prevented affected military pharmacies and some retail pharmacies nationally from processing claims and filling prescriptions.

Military pharmacies quickly adapted. They shifted to using offline processes to ensure prescriptions were filled safely. These internal downtime operations procedures and manual checks ensured that prescriptions were processed safely for patients. These checks included validating the correct medications and dosages.

As of Apr. 2, the connection to CHC is restored. Military pharmacies have returned to standard operations. They’re now able to process claims through Express Scripts. Express Scripts is the TRICARE pharmacy contractor.

“Our priority was to ensure that beneficiaries could access medications during this time. We’re proud of our team’s hard work to fill prescriptions. And we’re happy to resume routine operations now,” said Edward Norton, Jr., Pharmacy Operations Division chief at the Defense Health Agency.

Did you have to file a pharmacy claim? You can learn more about pharmacy claims. Or you can contact Express Scripts.

Do you have questions about filling your prescriptions? You can contact your local military pharmacy or TRICARE retail network pharmacy.

Want to learn more? You can visit TRICARE prescription drug coverage and pharmacy options.

Would you like the latest TRICARE news sent to you by email? Visit TRICARE Subscriptions, and create your personalized profile to get benefit updates, news, and more.

• Date Taken: 04.11.2024
• Date Posted: 04.15.2024 09:23
• Story ID: 468436
• Location: FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, US