Consumers may expect that when they leave a CVS store with prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and other personal items, it is the end of the transaction. But in fact, it is just the beginning. CVS retains data on your purchases in its computers and analyzes your medical history and buying patterns to design marketing pitches targeted specifically at you. It sells some of its purchase data to "health information companies" that in turn sell the information to drug manufacturers and others for marketing purposes. But perhaps most disturbingly, patient data has been found up for grabs in CVS pharmacy dumpsters, as reported by Ohio's WBNS-TV:"Just a couple of years ago, if you wanted the medical secrets of CVS customers, all you had to do was reach out and grab them. 10 Investigates found CVS dumpsters brimming with prescription bottles, print-outs of prescription information, patient names and the names of their drugs. The law says all of this is supposed to be kept confidential."
CVS To Pay Millions After Patient Info Discovered In Dumpsters [WBNS 10 TV]