[Ip-health] Bill proposed to close prescription data loophole

[Jeffrey A. Williams]

Joana and all,

  Well this is good news.  My question is how and whom will be
enforcing this soon to be law?  What are the tools if any to detect
such egregious violators of this legislation and/or soon to be law?
Does it include an opt-out that also includes a prohibition of ANY
use not approved by the patient of this data?  If not, than this
legislation does not go far enough by a significant margin IMO.

  P.S. I'll be sure to pass this along to our member so that they
can have a chance to review, and post whatever concerns individually
to the new web site recovery.gov and the existing whitehouse.gov or
their congressional representatives.

Joana Ramos wrote:

> FYI, a news article published today in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
> on a bill introduced in our  Legislature this week to prohibit the
> purchase and sale of patients' prescription data for marketing
> purposes.  Direct-to-patient -marketing,  an  intrusive practice beyond
> DTCA,  has become a  subspecialty industry in the USA, after changes to
> HIPAA  in 2003 made the practice possible nationwide.
>
> The Washington Coalition for Prescribing Integrity (WCPI)  is comprised
> of  consumer, provider, and healthcare reform groups, and is a project
> of Community Catalyst's Prescription Project (
> www.prescriptionproject.org <http://www.prescriptionproject.org/>).
>
> For more information, including a packet of background materials on the
> issue prepared by WCPI, please contact me privately.
>
> Joana Ramos, MSW
> Director
> Washington Coalition for Prescribing Integrity
> Seattle, WA
> 206-229-2420
> warxreform@gmail.com
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------
>
> Bill proposed to close prescription data loophole
>
> By VANESSA HO
> P-I REPORTER
>
> Many patients assume their prescription history is confidential, but a
> loophole in a federal privacy law is allowing pharmaceutical marketing
> companies to contact consumers with targeted, promotional campaigns.
>
> It goes like this: You're about to run out of your medication when you
> get a friendly call or letter reminding you to refill your prescription.
> But the reminder soon becomes a pitch encouraging you to try a new,
> often costlier medication.
>
> "(The letters and e-mails) are couched as being of service to the
> patient, but in reality they're marketing newer, more expensive drugs --
> without the patient's doctor having any idea that this marketing pitch
> is being done," said Rupin Thakkar, a pediatrician in Edmonds and
> co-chairman of the Washington Coalition for Prescribing Integrity.
>
> To fight this, Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and others have
> introduced House Bill 1493 to close the loophole. Advocates say the
> change would protect thousands of patients at no cost to taxpayers.
>
> "It creates a lot of confusion," Thakkar said. "When these phone calls
> come in, patients assume -- rightfully -- that their prescriptions are
> private. They assume this message must be coming from their doctor or
> pharmacist."
>
> Because health care providers are not part of the tactics, the potential
> for danger is great, he said.
>
> One Seattle woman who used the generic version of Allegra recently
> received a letter (with coupons) suggesting that she try Allegra-D,
> which contains pseudoephedrine, a drug that interferes with one of her
> health conditions.
>
> A woman in Bellingham got a call at home from a prescription benefits
> manager -- another type of loophole exploiter -- encouraging her to
> switch to a generic, less-expensive form of her medication.
>
> When the woman called her doctor, the doctor advised against the switch,
> saying the generic brand would not adequately treat her symptoms,
> advocates said.
>
> Doctors worry most about patients with chronic conditions, who often
> need to take a lot of meds, making them more vulnerable to marketing and
> drug-switching campaigns.
>
> Thakkar said the companies are exploiting a 2003 loophole in HIPAA, the
> Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
>
> Previously, the law specified people who could share patient
> information, such as pharmacists, doctors and insurance agents.
>
> But the Bush administration added the vaguely coined "business
> associates" to that group, with the caveat that the shared information
> had to relate to "patient care." To fulfill that obligation, the
> "associates" simply include a reminder to refill a prescription.
>
> "The sharing of prescription information for marketing purposes without
> consent violates the spirit of privacy law and destroys the
> confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship," said Leigh Sims, a
> spokeswoman for the coalition behind the bill.
>
> HIPAA allows states to pass stronger privacy protections. To survive, HB
> 1493 must pass out of committee by Feb. 8.
>
> P-I reporter Vanessa Ho can be reached at 206-448-8003 or
> vanessaho@seattlepi.com. Read the P-I's health blog at
> blog.seattlepi.com/healthreport.
> _______________________________________________
> Ip-health mailing list
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> http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ip-health

Regards,

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