If you visit a doctor’s office, it’s not unusual to provide them with sensitive information. But Fox45 found something alarming on Wednesday after discovering hundreds of medical records thrown away in a dumpster near a doctor’s office. The files were discovered by a worker from another doctor’s office near Amos Medical Services, a geriatric clinic on Van Dusen Road in Laurel. Hundreds of Doctor Marie Dobyns’ patients’ information, including social security numbers, birth dates and home address, were discarded with the trash. The worker says improperly discarded files leave patients at risk for identify theft and violates HIPPA laws, which protects patient’s privacy. “You know, they may not want anything exposed to the public. What if they have, you know, some disease that can possibly harm them getting a job in the future, anything else,” said one office worker from another practice. “But somebody has this information they could publicize it. You don’t know what they’re going to do with it, you have no idea.” The office manager at Dobyn’s office says they are in the process of moving and the files were thrown in the dumpster by mistake. She claims the files will be taken back up to the office to be shredded.
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