Supreme Court Rejects Prescription Privacy Law
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the hearing of an appeal by two publishers of health-care information that argued that obtaining data for commercial purposes is protected by free-speech rights.
The court decided not to hear the challenge made by IMS Health Inc. and Verispan to a New Hampshire law that makes it illegal to use information regarding a doctor’s prescribing history for the purpose of increasing drug sales.
The companies appeal came about because a U.S. appeals court upheld the law last year and rejected their argument that it constitutionally infringed on their free-speech rights.
New Hampshire is the first state to adopt a law like this in 2006. The companies said that since then, Main and Vermont have enacted similar laws.Â
The purpose of the law was to reduce health-care costs by making it harder for drug companies to engage in target marketing pitches to certain doctors, which the state believes results in expensive brand-name drug use.
The publishers often obtain data from pharmacies about a doctor’s prescriptions and illnesses that they have treated. The information is later sold to pharmaceutical companies, which is used in sales meetings with physicians.
The Supreme Court, without any comment, rejected the appeal.
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