Electronic Prescriptions and Cyberattacks

Olympia, WA - February 27, 2024.

Pharmacies nationwide, including some CVS stores, are facing ongoing delays filling prescriptions following a February 21, 2024 cyber-attack on a healthcare software provider. The provider systems are down for the seventh straight day after the cyber attack as of 10 a.m. February 27, 2024. The breach affected military clinics and hospitals worldwide. Doctors are likely to see an increased number of calls, upset patients, and delays. At this time, practitioners do have alternatives.

While RCW 69.50.312 requires that prescriptions for controlled substances be electronically communicated to a pharmacy, there is an exception to this requirement ?when the electronic system used for the communication of prescription information is unavailable due to a temporary technological or electronic failure.? This would be a qualifying time under this section of law.

Practitioners should remember that paper prescriptions must be on tamper resistant prescription pads. In addition, the law states that a pharmacist who receives a written, oral, or faxed prescription is not required to verify that the prescription properly meets any exemptions under this section. Pharmacists may continue to dispense and deliver medications from otherwise valid written, oral, or faxed prescriptions.