CVS has agreed to pay a $2.25 million settlement after the company's improper disposal of medical records was exposed by a sweeps week TV report.

WTHR-TV in Indianapolis did some dumpster dumping at CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreen pharmacies as part of its report. What they discovered at CVS locations across the country was a pattern of people's names, addresses, prescription info, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers being dumped in the garbage for anyone to see. Talk about a major HIPAA violation!

The WTHR investigation was initially prompted by news of a grandmother in Bloomington, Indiana, who was robbed at her front door by a thief who found her address in a CVS dumpster.

The $2.25 million settlement followed a probe by two federal agencies and was spurred on by interest in WTHR's report. See, good things can come from sweeps week!

CVS didn't admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, but rather said they were settling "to avoid the time and expense of further legal proceedings." They also denied hearing of any harm happening to anyone as a result of their negligence.

As part of the settlement terms, CVS will now institute new policies when disposing of old medical records. Ever heard of a shredder? Then you won't have to worry about little old ladies getting assaulted by someone pulling their files out of a dumpster!