An Austin woman went to her local Walgreens to pick up a prescription. Then a pharmacy technician let her know that a man picked up the medicine a day prior without her knowing.
“I had the craziest HIPAA violation happen to me today, and I need to know, like, what type of action can be taken, because I was the patient in this HIPAA violation scenario. And I don’t know if I have, like, room for … a legal suit,” said Gracie (@travelnursegracie), an Austin-based content creator who says she works as a travel nurse.
According to her, the Walgreens location gave her prescription, which had her full legal name and address on it, to a man in a white Toyota pickup truck. When she came into the pharmacy a day later, the pharmacy allegedly accused her of being drug-seeking.
As of this writing, Gracie’s video has more than 2.5 million views. But what exactly happened?
What Was the Violation in Question?
Gracie told her audience that she went in person to pick up a Wellbutrin prescription. But when she arrived and provided her date of birth and name, a pharmacy technician told her that her prescription had already been picked up.
Gracie reiterated that she didn’t pick up the medication, so the technician went to get a manager. The manager then told Gracie that she had picked up her medication.
“ The manager comes over, and she looks at me and she’s like, ‘Gracie… you picked up your meds yesterday,” Gracie said. Gracie started to ask questions, and after some back and forth, the manager offered to review the security footage.
“ She was like, ‘Well, do you want me to check the cameras?’ Like, threatening… You’re gonna see me on there,” Gracie said. “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.’”
The Technicians Pull the Footage
Gracie said the manager went to check the footage. Then she came back around 20 minutes later and asked whether Gracie drives a “white Toyota pickup truck.” Gracie said she didn’t.
She gave Gracie an unusual reply.
“ She’s like, ‘Oh, well, it must have been, like, a look-alike and sound-alike situation ’cause these meds have been picked up by this man we saw on the camera,’” she recalled the manager saying.
Gracie said that while she knew that particular Walgreens had violated HIPAA, she wasn’t sure what specific legal action she could take. The pharmacy in question reportedly did not fill her prescription despite her emphasizing that she wasn’t the person who picked it up.
“I … don’t have my meds, I’ve been accused of being drug-seeking, and some stranger out there has my medication with all my personal info on it,” she said. “ I’ve just never been on the receiving side of a HIPAA violation before. So let me know if you have any experience or if you’re a lawyer, legal, anything, medical malpractice.”
What Is a HIPAA Violation?
Gracie described the situation as a HIPAA violation, but for those who don’t know, what does that exactly mean?
In short, HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It guarantees U.S. citizens the right to keep their medical information—records, information at appointments, and other filings—private.
When a business entity or individual commits a HIPAA violation, it means they violated another individual’s right to health information privacy or committed another violation of “Privacy, Security, or Breach Notification Rules.”
In essence, if a medical professional discusses a patient’s diagnoses or history, or shares any private medical information such as their medications, they may have violated HIPAA.
‘What a Bizarre Assumption To Make’
In the comments section, viewers lambasted the Walgreens location for sharing her medical information. In addition, commenters pointed out that there were more than a few issues with how the pharmacy handled the situation. Gracie said that instead of immediately recognizing the mistake, for instance, the pharmacy questioned her.
To note, Wellbutrin is a multipurpose medication that’s considered non-addictive. Sites such as Addiction Resource and Better Addiction Care both state that the medication is generally safe to use and is not a controlled substance.
“Drug seeking Wellbutrin? What a bizarre assumption to make,” one commenter said.
Another said, “Also the concept of drug seeking Wellbutrin,” pointing out the issue with the characterization.
Others focused on the larger issue at hand—the insurance billing and the alleged HIPAA violation. Viewers told the content creator to call her insurance, call Walgreens corporate, and call an attorney.
“Former pharmacy tech here – this is an insane mistake as 2 patient identifiers are needed to pick up, which means this person either had to have given them your name and birthday or someone working there really messed up when pulling up info. Definitely report this to Walgreens corporate!” one viewer said.
Another added, “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.”
Gracie Reports the Situation
In an update video, Gracie confirmed that she reported the situation to Walgreens corporate team.
A few days later, Gracie got a call, which she said was from the Austin director of Pharmacy.
Gracie said that the woman she spoke with was “super nice about everything on the phone.” She was told that the Walgreens location that originally handled the situation should have prescribed her the medication after realizing the error.
Walgreens offered Gracie a cash refund for the prescription. But commenters warned the content creator against taking it.
“Oh no… do not pick up the cash. They need to refund the insurance not you…” one viewer said.
“[Even] if they provide the rx and a refund, you should still report it to the board of pharmacy for the error and health and human services, office of civil rights for the hipaa breach. Both are serious and need to be investigated and proper oversight put in place,” another viewer added.
Gracie then confirmed that she reported the situation, both to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy and to the Office of Civil Rights. She shared in a subsequent post that she’s unsure if she should seek legal counsel. She noted that the cash refund could be seen as a “settlement.”
Viewers didn’t come to a conclusion themselves. Some told her to seek a lawyer, while others told her to let the situation go.
Subplot News reached out to Gracie and Walgreens via email for comment.
