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Medical records thrown away in recycling bin

ALLENTOWN (AP) — Medical records containing highly sensitive medical and personal information have been found dumped in a publicly accessible recycling drop-off center in Pennsylvania.

The Morning Call reported Monday about a dozen medical files had been discovered in August at a local recycling center in Allentown. It is illegal under federal medical privacy laws to dispose of medical records in a public area without first making them indecipherable.

It’s unclear who dumped the records.

Allentown spokesman Mike Moore says there’s no video surveillance of the container where they were found.

Nearly all the visible records were printed on letterhead from Women’s Health Consultants, a now-closed practice that operated in South Whitehall Township and in Hanover Township.

Information included Social Security numbers, scanned driver’s licenses and medical histories including herpes, HIV and cancer.