Private medical records sent to wrong address

A package containing confidential medical records sent via UPS to an address on Canterbury Lane in Lawrenceville ended up at the same street address — only in Fayetteville.

The package contained the records of more than 40 Grady Memorial Hospital patients — including names, Social Security numbers, medical conditions and diagnoses — which were meant for a workers’ compensation office in Lawrenceville called MCMC.

It was opened a few days ago instead by James Howell in Fayetteville, who promptly called WSB-TV and Grady. He returned the documents on Monday to Grady, said hospital spokesman Matt Gove. Howell couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday. How the confusion happened is not clear, but Grady Hospital says it appears UPS put a new sticker on the envelope, which was shown to a reporter on Monday.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Gove said.

But as to what did happen, that’s still under investigation.

“For whatever reason, it got kicked out of the system,” said UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenburg. “This one got redirected incorrectly. I don’t have more details. That’s what we’re investigating right now.”

She said that UPS periodically updates ZIP codes and other information from the U.S. Postal Service and based on feedback from UPS drivers about new developments. Rosenburg wouldn’t disclose the Sandy Springs-based company’s error rates.