Charlotte pharmacy customers feeling the pain of latest cyber attack
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Thousands of North Carolinians are paying more for their prescription medications – or going without them. It comes after a massive cyber-attack that is crippling the healthcare industry.
Friday marked the ninth day that Greg Deese’s pharmacy in the Oakhurst neighborhood has been without a critical software system.
He says about 15% of his customers, who come into the story trying to pick up medications, are shocked to find they will have to pay hundreds of dollars more for it.
Financial advice columnist admits to giving scammers $50,000 in a shoe box
“You don’t want anything to impact any part of your life but medicine, your health, your well-being. It’s sad,” Deese said.
Initially diagnosed as a temporary Wi-Fi disruption, the issue turned out to be much larger, impacting pharmacies and hospitals across the country.
The prescription processing system, run by Change Healthcare, acts as a middle-mad between pharmacies and insurers. Last Wednesday, the company got hacked and has been offline ever since.
“This hack has become, I think, more real to a lot of people because it affects their neighborhood. You don’t always see that with a lot of these hacks,” Sterling Technology Solutions CEO Tom Blanchard said.
While thousands of hacking groups are out there, the one behind the Change Healthcare attack went public. The ransomware group Blackcat went as far as publishing information it obtained.
“It’s all an effort to apply pressure and leverage to get what they ultimately want, which is a payday,” Blanchard said. “I don’t know what the ultimate source of the breach was. I think it might be too early to tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an email breach.”
Prince Harry seeks over $550,000 in phone hacking lawsuit against British tabloid publisher
Cybercriminals are holding a system hostage – that is now making North Carolinians choose to pay more for medication or hold off until the system is back online.
During our interview with Deese, a prescription for ADHD medication came through. Deese said the customer typically pays $100 for a refill. Because of the cyberattack, many are ponying up as much as $480.
“We get questions every day about, ‘How long is this going to last?’. We say the same thing: Unfortunately, it’s a cyberattack. We don’t know what caused it, and we don’t know how long it is going to last. We will keep trying your prescription every day. In the meantime, if you want it, you can get it. You will just have to pay out of pocket,” Deese said.
Deese says the system hack is impacting co-pays, customers on Medicare, and anyone without an insurance card.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
