HOUSTON -- Note: The following story is a verbatim transcript of an Investigators story that aired on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006, on KPRC Local 2 at 10 p.m.

Tonight, Local 2 investigates why places that should keep your sensitive personal information private are instead dumping it for anyone to see. We discovered it happening all over Houston at a business you probably visit all the time.

Investigative reporter Amy Davis uncovers just who is dumping your medical information.

What did we find in the trash that has people so upset?

"I never expect anything like this," said a southwest Houston resident.

She never expected we'd find personal information like names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and something much more personal. We also know exactly what prescription drugs they're taking -- personal medical information from your neighborhood pharmacy for anyone to see.

"This should not be getting out to people -- anybody could pick this up," said an unidentified pharmacy customer.

Local 2 investigates spent three months checking pharmacy Dumpsters across the Houston area. We checked 90 Walgreens and CVS Dumpsters, plus a handful of smaller pharmacies.

It didn't take much digging to find loads of personal information. We found it all in clear bags and in clear view. All of the bags were inside unlocked Dumpsters.

We found prescription labels, pill bottles and computer printouts. All of it included detailed personal medical information. It's information many patients might not want you to see. It's information many patients might not want you to see. We found prescriptions for everything from allergy medicines to anti-psychotic drugs.

Local 2 Investigates collected so much information, we had to lay it all out on our studio floor to get the big picture.

The total -- personal prescription information for more than 200 people.

"What do you think they should be doing with your personal information?" reporter Amy Davis asked.

"It certainly should not be put in a Dumpster," a customer said.

"It concerns me because it's no one else's business what I'm taking," another customer said.

"They could have broken into my house. They could have stolen her identity," another customer said.

So, which pharmacies are doing this?

Out of the dozens of pharmacy Dumpsters we checked from Pasadena to Sugar Land to north Houston, we found 20 CVS stores dumping your information.

Three Walgreens did it. So did two smaller pharmacies.

The Family Pharmacy on Southmore in Pasadena dumped personal information for more than 100 customers in just one bag.

When we went to ask how that could happen, clerks only told us the manager wasn't there. The manager didn't return our calls.

Managers wouldn't talk to us at the CVS pharmacy at Southmore and Pasadena Boulevard. That's where we found information on 13 customers.

No one is talking at the CVS on Bellaire and Stella Link near West University either. We found information on 22 customers at that location.

Finally, managers at the CVS on Beechnut and Fondren in southwest Houston owned up to the problem. We found personal information on eight separate visits totaling 42 customers.

"It's just someone's information sitting right there on top of the Dumpster. Does that surprise you to see that?" Davis asked.

"It does surprise me to see that right now because that should not be happening," said Arun Luke, a CVS pharmacy supervisor.

"What would you say to customers who want to know why their information was thrown out for anyone to have access to?" Davis said.

"I want to apologize," Luke said. "I do apologize to the customers right now. I want to ensure that this did happen here and what you've found won't happen again."

CVS managers tell us employees are supposed to put customer's medical information in blue bags to be destroyed, not those clear bags we found in the Dumpster.

"I can't believe that this happened. We'll take immediate action on it right now," Luke said.

But the pharmacies themselves may not be the only ones taking action.

Thursday at 6, we'll head to Austin and you'll hear why the state is making immediate changes because of our investigation.

We also discover why dumping personal medical information is not only a privacy concern.

Walgreens is also making changes. Even though we only found three of its pharmacies dumping personal information, a Walgreens spokesperson says, "While we're glad our diligence in securing pharmacy trash has produced these results, we'll continue to emphasize the importance of this with our pharmacy staffs."

Below you'll find a database showing the results of all the pharmacies we checked. We provided the exact addresses of the pharmacies we found personal information in the trash.

More Information:

List Of Pharmacies Checked
Texas State Board of Pharmacy

Note: The following story is a verbatim transcript of an Investigators story that aired on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006, on KPRC Local 2 at 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Local 2 Investigates uncovered pharmacies across Houston dumping your personal medical information in the trash for anyone to see. Now, the state is taking immediate action because of our investigation.

Investigative Reporter Amy Davis travels to Austin to find out why this kind of information dumping is such a serious concern.

"This is not protecting my privacy," said a CVS customer in southwest Houston. "If you can get it, then anybody can get it."

Local 2 Investigates found anybody can get loads of personal information like names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, and what prescriptions you may be taking. We found personal medical information in clear view inside Dumpsters of neighborhood pharmacies from Pasadena to Sugar Land and across Houston.

We caught 20 CVS pharmacies, three Walgreens, and two smaller pharmacies dumping your information. In all, we found the personal medical information for more than 200 customers.

Investigative Reporter Amy Davis asked, "What should you guys be doing with that information?"

"Thank you for bringing that to our attention," said Arun Luke, a CVS pharmacy supervisor. "We do have a policy in place."

Some pharmacies promised changes because of what we found, but customers ask, "Who's checking?"

So, we hauled our trash to Austin to find out what the state says pharmacists should do with your personal information.

"I guess the most concerning thing is that you have so many of them," said Gay Dodson with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.

Dodson says none of the information we found in the trash should be there. It is against both state and federal law. Dodson says it's more than just a privacy concern. She says addicts have used personal information to help them get a quick fix.

"People would go into pharmacy Dumpsters and find specific drugs and find a bottle that had refills on it and get refills. They were seeking drugs," Dodson said.

In fact, the drug enforcement agency had also expressed similar concerns.

Dodson said, "I am surprised at the volume that you've gotten out of some of these places and the fact that you got them several times when you went back. It's concerning."

State regulators started immediate investigations on the pharmacies Local 2 Investigates caught dumping personal information. The State Board of Pharmacy says it is sending warning letters to all of the pharmacies, and promises investigators will now begin looking for the problem during routine pharmacy inspections across the state. "It's something we need to look into to see what we can do to make it better," Dodson said.

Local 2 investigates will properly destroy all of the personal information we found as soon as state pharmacy investigators complete their investigations.

If you see a pharmacy that is violating the release of your personal information, you can make a complaint with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy at www.tsbp.state.tx.us.

More Information:

List Of Pharmacies Checked
Texas State Board of Pharmacy