Prescriptions were scattered all over the side of Maloney Boulevard in Gatineau. (CBC)

Ontario's privacy commissioner is investigating after thousands of medical prescriptions were found blowing around on a street in Gatineau last week.

The prescriptions date from 1994, and they contained personal information about patients who used to be clients of what used to be Nelson Drugs on Main Street in Old Ottawa East.

The prescriptions ended up on Gatineau's Maloney Boulevard when a garbage bag burst after it fell off the back of a truck.

The owner of what is now called Watson Pharmacy and Wellness Centre, Scott Watson, has already publicly apologized, saying he found the garbage bag in the basement and asked a friend to dispose of it, not realizing it contained old prescriptions,

Ontario's assistant privacy commissioner, Ken Anderson, says his office gets monthly complaints about medical records that have not been properly disposed of. (CBC)

That's no consolation for people whose names and medical histories have been made public, Ontario's assistant privacy commissioner said Monday.

"For the specific person involved there's everything from embarrassment to having their personal identification be known and perhaps used in a wrong way. So you have [identity] theft," said Ken Anderson.

He said this kind of mistake is not unusual. He said the privacy commission gets monthly complaints about medical records that have not been properly disposed of, and he suspects there are many cases his office doesn't hear about.

"We have too many times when somebody's personal health information has actually gone astray, is available to people who shouldn't have it, and is maybe even sadly blowing down some streets," Anderson said.

The privacy commission is expected to have a report on this case within a couple of weeks.

The Ontario College of Pharmacists is aware of the case, but said Monday it's too soon to say whether it will launch an investigation of its own.