Woman Goes to Pick Up Her Walgreens, but the Manager Says She Already Took It. Now Her Private Info May Have Been Given Away
What do you even do when you're accused of drug-seeking?
Gracie (@travelnursegracie) says she’s become a victim of a HIPAA violation and is asking her followers to tell her what legal routes she can take. In a TikTok video, Gracie said she went to Walgreens to pick up her prescription for a strip of Wellbutrin but was told it had already been picked up.
She said that when she tried to tell an employee she didn’t take them, the employee gave her a weird look and then called for the manager. When the manager arrived, she allegedly repeatedly tried to stress that Gracie had the medication, despite her refusing, implying that Gracie was drug-seeking.
Gracie, speaking about the manager’s conduct, said, “She looks at me, and she’s like, ‘Gracie, you picked up your meds yesterday,’ and I was like, ‘Excuse me, no, I didn’t.’ Like, now I’m being accused of being drug-seeking.” She added, “Also, it’s not like it’s Oxycodone or Adderall, like, what, why are you accusing me of saying I picked them up?”
“Call their compliance office”
Gracie mentioned that at one point, the manager started speaking to her condescendingly and asked if she should check the cameras. Gracie stated, “she was like well ‘do you want me to check the cameras?’ like threatening like it you’re gonna see me on there I was like ‘yes please I would love for you to check the cameras because I did not receive my meds you guys gave them to the wrong person’ then she was like ‘okay if that’s what you really want yeah we’ll go pull the footage.’”
She continued, “It’s like so condescending and just automatically assuming, yeah, that I’m drug seeking.” Watching the video, they saw a man had picked up her medication, and when she confronted the manager, they said they couldn’t do anything. Her personal details, including her address, were exposed because they were written on the package the man took. He could have done anything with that information, including putting her safety at stake.
Even worse, the store refused to refill her prescription and told her to get a new one from her doctor. “I…don’t have my meds. I’ve been accused of being drug seeking, and some stranger out there has a medication with all my personal info on it like and I was the one being accused of being in the wrong in the situation,” she said.
Recently, a handful of cases involving HIPAA violations have come to the forefront. Notably, a woman on TikTok shared how her OB-GYN’s office called her husband’s ex-wife and outed her pregnancy because they couldn’t reach her.
Gracie, being a victim herself, asked her audience how she could take up the matter legally, and a few responded. One user wrote, “As the daughter of a former DEA agent who did prescription compliance and fraud, call their compliance office and report it!! 1-877-792-2873.” Another said, “Call- 1. Walgreens corporate. 2. Your insurance. 3. An attorney.”
A few others pointed out that the violation was more extensive than just a HIPAA breach. One user commented, saying, “That’s not only a HIPAA issue it’s a HUGE safety issue.” Another stated, “Forget HIPPA, dispensing medication to someone else is a whole different kinda illegal. Big big no no.”
Can a HIPAA violation complaint be filed if a pharmacy gives your medicine to someone else?
SavLawyer, a licensed lawyer on Just Answer, states that if a pharmacy accidentally gives an individual’s prescription to someone else, it could be considered a breach of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). They further state that while an individual may not have the right to sue under HIPAA, they can file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
They also mentioned that the pharmacy would be obligated to refill the prescription. Unfortunately, in Gracie’s case, that didn’t happen, and it does not appear that Walgreens has commented further.
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