Nearly 58k prescription records thrown out at Smith’s in Henderson

Nearly 58,000 prescription records of customers at a Smith’s Food and Drug store in Henderson were improperly thrown out, according to the grocery retailer.

The company said in a statement Friday that a former associate in late July discarded 12 boxes of pharmacy records in the store’s trash compactor, which includes all waste, including food, from the store.

The incident happened at the Smith’s store located on 4600 E. Sunset Road and was discovered by the retailer on Aug. 29.

The employee has since been terminated, according to Smith’s.

The discarded records were at least 11 years old and might have included a patient’s first name, last name, gender, date of birth, home address, phone number, drug name, prescription number and third-party payer information.

Smith’s said it has not received any indication that the information has been misused.

“We take our patients’ privacy seriously and are committed to creating additional safeguards to prevent a similar isolated event from recurring,” Smith’s Food & Drug Corporate Affairs Manager Aubriana Marindale said. “Additionally, we are re-educating select associates on our HIPAA policies and procedures, including proper disposal of records. We sincerely apologize that this incident occurred.”

The company said it’s unable to identify the patients involved but estimate about 57,600 pharmacy records were tossed. Smith’s asked patients to review their health plan statements.

Customers can also contact Smith’s at 1-877-551-7953 or in writing at The Kroger Co.’s HIPAA Privacy Office, 1014 Vine St., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202.

Contact Subrina Hudson at shudson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @SubrinaH on Twitter.