Montgomery pharmacist facing malpractice suit

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) –

A Montgomery pharmacist is facing legal action for allegedly revealing her customers’ private information.

The Alabama State Board of Pharmacy has also taken action against pharmacist Dee Parks.

According to court documents, Parks is the focus of a civil malpractice suit for allegedly giving patient information to a third party.

Attorney Virginia Lucci says Parks issued a lease to one of Lucci’s client. On the back of the lease were three dozen patients of Parks Pharmacy, along with their prescription information, doctor’s name and doctor’s number.

Lucci says it appears Parks decided to print the lease on the blank side of a paper that had been used for her pharmacy’s dispensing report log.

“The HIPAA law was created so that people wouldn’t know what kind of medication you are on. It’s an invasion of privacy,” Lucci said.

In the wrong hands, Lucci believes more than just HIPAA laws could have been violated. She says many of the prescriptions are controlled substances like hydrocodone.

“That information out there, it’s real easy to track these folks down. A lot of these people are older and could become targets for crime to steal their medication,” Lucci said.

Emily Nichols with the Attorney General’s Office says although personal information that can be used in identity theft, like social security numbers, wasn’t compromised, this still should serve as a reminder to be more careful.

“Keep an eye on things like our credit reports, credit card statements, prescriptions. Make sure when we go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, there’s not multiple prescriptions in our name. If you are there to pick up one and they say there is two here, find out why there is two there in your name. Be sure to ask questions,” Nichols said. “So many people are hesitant or shy about asking questions and being up front about their own identity and their information. There is no reason that you need to be shy about asking questions.”

We reached out to Parks for a comment, and she said she is waiting for her day in court.

After several violations from a different case, including operating a pharmacy without a permit, not having a valid DEA registration and State Controlled Substances registration, storing drugs in a warehouse and not in a pharmacy, the State Board of Pharmacy suspended Parks license to practice pharmacy and state controlled substance permit for five years.

One more reminder when it comes to protecting your personal information, the Attorney General’s Office advises you never to leave your mail sitting out in public view and invest in a shredder to destroy documents that you might have otherwise just tossed into the trash. 

Filed under: General Problems