Unsolocited medical mail (snail mail)
A couple of weeks ago I was sent a package in the mail that kind of took me by surprise. It was addressed to me, but wasn’t something I would order, expect, or even consider ordering. However, I was sent several Scantron-style sheets, some brand new plastic bags labeled “biohazard”, and other information including an account number for supplies for a medical office. Trying to do the right thing, I did a lookup on the company that sent the package and they swore up and down that they had the correct address and told me I was a specific Doctor. After a quick lookup of previous owners of the address this package was sent to (I have more than a few addresses), there was no record of any Doctors living at this specific home.
So I called the company back. This time, I was greeted by someone that appeared to be a bit grumpy. Apparently, the company was looking for a specific Doctor. After asking a few questions, I found out the doctor lived at an address in Minneapolis, Minnesota that was…well…not really very close to the one on the package. Numbers were switched around, the street name was a bit scrambled, and our names were not close at all. However, the address on the package was definitely one of mine. The last place this Doctor practised was in Saginaw, Michigan, but this company had discovered that the Doctor moved to Midland, Michigan. Since they couldn’t find him, they asked if I knew him. Not knowing what everything was all about, nor what they wanted with the Doctor, I told them I did not know him. Then the ignorance started – they told me that I “need” to find the Doctor and give him the package. Apparently I’m a delivery service and didn’t know it. Needless to say, I let them know I wasn’t about to do their detective work. They then had told me that I need to return the package, but I would need to pay for postage. Again, I refused. They then had threatened to call the police and I reminded them that the mail was addressed to me and is legally mine (I did this out of spite at this point) and hung up the phone.
Two days later, they called my phone asking for the Doctor they were looking for. I told them that there was no Doctor at this number. They had then told me that I need to give the Doctor a message to call them. I reminded them again that there is no Doctor at this number and they hung up. I haven’t heard back since then, but decided that this encounter was worthy of a write-up.
Now I can assure you, I’m not a Doctor (especially a Medical Doctor) by any stretch of the word. Imagine what the possibilities are having the supplier’s name, address, number, and the account number of this Doctor as well as his name thanks to the company disclosing his name and information. I’m still shocked that something this sensitive landed in my lap out of the blue like this. I can only imagine how often something like this happens, or the consequences of when something like this happens. Do HIPAA laws come into play here? Any other privacy laws? This is similar to if a bank statement ended up being sent to me that was really someone else’s account. And yes, that happened to me too about two years ago.
After checking with the post office, since this was sent to me at one of my addresses, this piece of mail is mine and they don’t have the right to ask for it back.
Materials used: Nothing – this just ended up being sent to me via snail mail.