US pharmacy company sued for revealing HIV status of customers

American pharmacy giant CVS Health is being sued for allegedly revealing 6,000 people’s HIV status in Ohio. The company inadvertently revealed this by posting out envelopes with clear plastic windows that allowed the HIV status of participants in a drug program to be seen by anyone. Fiserv, the mail delivery company, is also being sued.

One of the plaintiffs described the incident as a “significant distress as a result of this disclosure,” especially because he lives in a small town where “everyone knows everyone.”

Another plaintiff has said he “feels that CVS has essentially handed a weapon to anyone who handled the envelope, giving them the opportunity to attack his identity or cause other harm to him.”

CVS failed to notify any of their customers about the breach in privacy and has since said the whole incident was a mistake – a reference code, not the customer’s HIV status, was supposed to be seen.

“CVS Health places the highest priority on protecting the privacy of those we serve, and we take our responsibility to safeguard confidential information very seriously,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Tim Gibson

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