Walgreens sued for ‘inappropriate comments’ in patient database

Computerworld - Three Florida women have filed separate lawsuits against drug store chain Walgreen Co. after unflattering comments about them were allegedly entered by pharmacy workers into prescription records kept in the company’s customer databases.

The comments, which included statements such as “She seems shady,” were entered into the database by pharmacy workers using computerized on-screen forms, according to the lawsuits. The on-screen forms used by the Deerfield, Ill., company are Drug Utilization Review (DUR) records kept for customers, featuring the name of the drugs prescribed, dosages, patient addresses, phone numbers and details about the drugs dispensed. There are also blank areas of the form where notes can be entered, which is where the unflattering comments were entered, according to the lawsuits.

“The system is a great system for the intended purpose,” said Cathy Purvis Lively, a Lake Worth, Fla., attorney who represents all three plaintiffs. “On this particular entry in the database, people are using it for a different purpose,” she said. “Our concern is whenever that kind of [insulting] information is entered, where does it then go?”

Lively said she is concerned that any derogatory comments in a patient’s record can be seen by other Walgreens workers in the approximately 5,100 locations that access the store’s companywide database. “This is not some anti-computer thing,” Lively said. “It’s a tool and it’s dependent on who makes the entries.”

Each of her clients received a copy of the DUR screen shot with their prescriptions and then saw the derogatory notes, she said. “Whether or not a customer is supposed to get it, I can’t imagine.”

The plaintiffs are Jane Karp, 53, of Palm Beach County; Erin Cutler, 30, of Marion County; and Elizabeth Noah, 64, of Palm Beach County. Karp’s lawsuit was filed March 7, while the other two suits were filed Wednesday and yesterday.

In an interview today, Jane Karp said she noticed the extra sheet of paper stapled to her prescription bag for the sleep aid medicine, Ambien, when she picked it up and it piqued her curiosity. “I opened it up and I was astonished,” she said. The notes on her DUR form said “CrAzY!!’’ and “She’s really a psycho!! Do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by name & try to talk to her when....”

“No words came out of my mouth,” Karp said after she read the notes. “I was traumatized. I don’t think anyone could imagine how I felt unless it happened to them, unless you’ve gone through some sort of depression in your life or have seen a family member have problems with depression. Walgreens will never know what I am going through at the moment.”