Shredding Identifying Papers!!!!!
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive June 2007:
Shredding Identifying Papers!!!!!
Ladies, be absolutely SURE you shred any papers that identify you in any way!!!!!
We have had this *conversation* numerous times, but I want to tell you what happened to me today.
A few months ago, we were cleaning out the house to have all the work done. I had saved all of those Rx *receipts* that are stapled to the outside of the prescription bags, for income tax purposes. DH discovered we could just get a printout from CVS at the end of each year, so since then, I've been shredding them as soon as I pick up my Rx's from the pharmacy. So, we had 12 months worth from 2005, I had them in a large trash bag to shred. We were throwing out a lot of household junk, etc., and 2 days before trash night, we had someone helping us haul heavy stuff to the street. DH took that bag and placed it with all the other bags/junk/stuff. I told him I wanted to shred the stuff, and he left it out there, then was thrilled a few hours later that *all our stuff was gone*. I hit the roof, not only was the junk gone, but my GARBAGE was gone.
A month passed, nothing came of it, I forgot all about it. Well, today I had my regular appointment with my doc, had prolo therapy, and got all my new Rx's, and when I was leaving, the nurse came to me and asked me if I had tried to refill 2 Rx's that had no refills. I told her NO, I've been seeing this doc for over 10 years, I have called in for more meds when I had no refills exactly TWICE in 10 years. She says *I know I got 2 requests from the pharmacy this morning.* I told her NO WAY, I did not call in anything that didn't have a refill.
So she brings the actual faxes from the pharmacy to me. They were 2 old prescriptions from 2005!! Both were for controlled meds, I take neither any longer, but I knew immediately what had happened. She told me she *thought* I would have mentioned it to her, and she thought it was strange because she knew I had an appointment today and was getting new Rx's today. I told her about the garbage being stolen and asked for copies. Not only is someone trying to get meds illegally, it made ME wonder if my doc's office thought *I* was trying to get more meds than I need! I really don't think they thought that of me, but you just never know.
I went straight to my pharmacy to get my meds, and also had a long talk with the pharmacist. I never would have known if the nurse hadn't mentioned this, and I explained it all to the pharmacist, and asked that she *flag* our names so that the only persons allowed to pick up any meds for DH and me are us, and us alone, and that they should ask for our ID when we pick up our meds.
I am so upset by this! I expect it to happen again, and told the pharmacist that. It just maddens me and scares me to death, that someone knows my birthdate, phone, address and the medications I take!!
So please, make sure you shred everything - don't leave anything to chance!!!
Wow, that would have never crossed my mind that someone would think to do that. And know to wait long enough so you would forget about it.
Wow. That is scary. It's a good thing the nurse said something!
Karen - I worked for CVS, as a pharmacy technician, about ten years ago. People used to bring us their empty pill vials and give us their RX number to get a refill. We were told that it was okay to throw the empty vials in the trash because they would be incinerated. Well, one night, I was walking to my car and I saw a seagull ripping open a trash bag that he had dragged out of the dumpster. Upon closer inspection, there were empty pill vials all around the area of the trash bag, with labels intact. As you correctly stated, there is way too much personal information on those labels. (the receipt is often a duplicate of the vial label). I thought to myself, "That's a lawsuit waiting to happen".
I always tear the labels off the vials before I dispose of them at home. If the labels won't come off, I take a black Magic Marker and black out all of the print. It takes a few extra minutes, but it, hopefully, prevents what happened to you.
You have to constantly be on top of the latest scheme. Because we don't think like low-lifes, we can't possibly think of all the things that they can dream up. (If only they put that brain power to GOOD use!).
Hol, when I throw away old Rx bottles, I tear the labels off, tear those up and anal as it sounds, throw them in a DIFFERENT trash bag from the one I throw the empty bottles in. I am completely paranoid about this, I guess because of the type of meds I am on. I try to be SOO careful, we have a safe in our house that meds go in, I don't leave them in drawers, cabinets, etc. This was just one of those freak things - DH assumed it was OK to just throw those things out - I always shred them.
I am still pretty freaked out about this. There were 12 months of Rx *receipts* (what is the correct term for those things they staple to the bags the meds are in?? You know what I'm talking about, it lists the Rx #, your name and identifying information, then the other side has all the info about the drug, side effects, etc.), so as I told the pharmacist, I won't be surprised if this happens again. What *really* scares me is that whoever has this stuff now knows where I live and what types of meds I take, and I'm afraid they might come here.
So I repeat, shred EVERYTHING!!!
Wow, Karen...thank you for telling us about that. I never even think twice about throwing that paper they staple to the RX bag away. I will start shredding it for sure.
Wow, a good lesson learned for the rest of us.. Maybe you should contact the police department and make them aware that you are having an issue.. Be safe.
Wow, that's scary!
I know when I worked at the pharmacy we had to shred any identifying papers and put them in one bag and we had a lot of people who would bring back their old pill vials for us to discard. Everything went in it's own separate bag and we had carriers come by every night who would discard of all those things.
Good advice!
Also, If you throw away or donate the magazines that you have subscriptions for, cut out the address labels on the covers.
Karen - The "receipts" are just that, although you also get a cash register receipt that shows you paid. The sheet attached to it is called a "monograph", and it explains the drug, it's intended use, side effects, contraindications, etc.
You can never be too careful today. We burn all confidential papers outside in a fire pit, including RX labels and receipts.
I think that notifying the police is a good idea. The fact that your address has been compromised is worrisome.
Good advice Karen. Sorry you had to go through that though. From now on, I will definitely shred those papers and tear off the labels. I would definitely contact the police and get their input. They may be able to send a fax to other pharmacies in the area, and then possibly catch this person on tape.
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