Man Sues CVS For Telling His Wife He Had A Viagra Prescription
LONG ISLAND, NY (CBS Local) - A man in New York is suing CVS after the pharmacy giant revealed that he had a prescription for Viagra to his wife.
The Details:
- A Long Island man is suing CVS for telling his wife he had a Viagra prescription
- Michael Feinberg was reportedly paying for the drug out of pocket and didn't want his wife to know
- Feinberg claims in court documents that the information ruined his marriage
According to the New York Post, Michael Feinberg claims a worker at his local CVS in Long Island blabbed about his use of the erectile-dysfunction drug. Feinberg adds that the revelation ruined his marriage, however court documents don't go into detail on why the Viagra purchases caused the relationship to fail.
A CVS worker identified as "Aurula" in court papers "improperly informed [Feinberg's] wife that [Feinberg's] 'prescription for Viagra was not being covered by insurance,'" the lawsuit filed in Nassau Supreme Court reads.
The husband and his lawyer are arguing that CVS broke federal privacy laws under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The law requires a pharmacy to get a patient's permission before revealing confidential medical information to anyone else, even a spouse.
Feinberg reportedly refers to his wife as a "third party" in the case and says she had no right to know about the eight 100-milligram pills (with five refills) he ordered. Feinberg also reportedly requested that the Long Island CVS keep the prescription off of the couple's insurance, stating that he would pay for the $60-per-pill drug out of pocket.
"We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that we provide medications to the correct patient," CVS spokesman Gary Serby said in a statement obtained by International Business Times. "We also place the highest priority on protecting the privacy of those we serve, and we take our responsibility to safeguard confidential information very seriously."
A 2016 investigation into HIPAA rules found that CVS Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs had the most complaints for privacy violations brought against them from 2011 to 2014.
