Drug maker Eli Lilly last week inadvertently divulged the e-mail addresses of some patients with depression, bulimia or obsessive-compulsive disorder, the Washington Post reported, quoting company executives.
A June 27 e-mail message listed the addresses of more than 600 people who had signed up for an Internet service provided by Lilly to send them reminders about taking the company's Prozac medicine or attending to other matters.
Over the past two years such messages were addressed only to individuals. Last week's message was sent to every participant and included all of their e-mail addresses because of a computer programming error, a Lilly spokeswoman told the Post. She said the company has taken steps to prevent a recurrence.
Privacy specialists said the lapse demonstrates the difficulties of protecting sensitive information collected and shared on the Internet.
