It was supposed to be a normal trip to the drugstore, but one London woman got a shock when she got home and realized what was handed to her at the pharmacy.
Helliena Julliana was simply inquiring about some medication at the Shoppers Drug Mart location at Adelaide and Huron streets.
That's when she was given a blank piece of paper with the name of a drug written on it.
It wasn't until she got home that she looked at the other side.
"I discovered there were the names, medications and phone numbers of five different people...I was shocked. It makes me wonder how safe my information is here because in the past I had gotten prescriptions here."
CTV News has seen the paper and confirms there are five names on the paper, their phone numbers, the type of drugs prescribed, the amount they recieved and even their doctors' names.
Dr. Donna Rogers, dean and privacy specialist at Brescia College, says this is a serious breach of privacy for several reasons, especially if it got into the wrong hands
"So now you have a member of the public knowing that person X, who lives at such and such a place, whose phone number is whatever it is, has narcotics in their possession and that could expose that person to some personal danger."
After contacting the location where the incident occurred, the Shoppers Drug Mart head office in Toronto issued an email statement.
It reads "We have taken this matter seriously and immediately worked with the pharmacist at this location to address this issue. The pharmacy has reviewed privacy policies, procedures and requirements for disposal of personal information with all pharmacy staff members.
"We have contacted this individual to secure the document in question, as it must be returned to the store immediately so it can be disposed of in accordance with privacy protocol. The individual has agreed to return it today.
"If information pertaining to any individual is visible, they will be contacted by the store immediately as a precautionary measure."
Jullianna confirms she has been contacted and agreed to return the piece of paper, and she was also reassured it won't happen again.
"They said they [will] no longer use that kind of paper, they're making a change."
