Doctors say patients' confidential letters getting lost in mail

ROSWELL, Ga. — A Roswell postal inspector is starting an investigation after Wednesday afternoon reports where doctors reported that their mail with private patient information is getting lost.

North Roswell Internal Medicine is one of at least four businesses in the Roswell complex off Crabapple Road where their mail is getting delivered to the wrong place or it just gets lost. Some of it includes checks, which then lead to an uncomfortable phone call to their patients.

"They've said they sent it. They have to stop payment and they have to resend it actually," Theresa Javer told Channel 2's Craig Lucie.

Javer said the mail carriers will sometimes drop off bundles of it and then they have to play the role of the mail carrier for the entire complex.

"I received a huge basket full of mail today. We receive a lot of it around our complex, and I want to make sure everybody is getting their mail, especially at the beginning of the year when there's government stuff like taxes," she said.

It includes attorney's mail and sensitive patient information for their office and two other doctors' offices.

"We need to get that patient information to take care of their health especially with us being a primary care office. We receive information from specialist and imaging places that aren't electronic," Javer said.

A few doors down from them is the Sweet Apple Health Group where they say they have had thousands of dollars in the mail turn up missing.

"We get mail that's been opened. It's gone through. The mail doesn't come in the right order," said Dr. Greg Bobo.

The business owners think Roswell Post Office Annex off Holcombe Bridge Road is creating the problem.

"It seems like they are changing their drivers around too many times," Javer told Lucie.

Lucie also asked Bobo what he thinks is causing the reoccurring problem.

"The carriers are switching. They don't know the area as well and so rather than taking on the responsibility, they are just passing it on. They are not taking care of the mail," Bobo said.

A postal inspector called the Sweet Apple office Wednesday after Lucie's 4 p.m. report and told Dr. Andrew Gephardt that she was investigating and would get back to him when she figured out what or who was causing the problem.

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