A viewer alerted us to the fact that the dumpster behind a doctor's office on New Florissant Road was filled with medical records, so we went to check it out.
Sure enough, it was filled to the top with patient records. They were from Dr. David Brown of St. John's Mercy Medical Group.
It was hard to believe that anyone in this day and age of identity theft and privacy concerns would do such a thing. Sure, the records were old, but some were as recent as five years ago, and they contained insurance information and social security numbers in addition to incredibly personal medical information.
St. John's said protocol was to shred records, they should not be in a dumpster. Dr. Brown issued a statement saying he regretted this had happened, the records would be retrieved and disposed of properly, and he wanted to assure his patients going forward that protocol would be followed.
Health and Human Services specifically states that putting records in a dumpster is not compliant with federal privacy regulations.
