[Med-privacy] Albertsons sued

[pmarshall]

*** Privacy Group Sues Pharmacy for Selling Customers' Info ***

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), a San Diego-based nonprofit consu=
mer information and advocacy organization, announced yesterday that it ha=
s filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court. The suit charges Albertso=
ns and its affiliated companies, the second largest supermarket chain and=
 fifth largest drugstore retailer in the nation, with violating the priva=
cy rights of thousands of its customers by illegally selling their confid=
ential prescription information to drug companies. According to the compl=
aint, Albertsons' pharmacy customers receive direct mail and phone solici=
tations derived from their confidential medical information provided to t=
he pharmacy solely to fill prescriptions. The solicitations appear to be =
from the patient's concerned local pharmacist and remind the customer to =
renew a prescription or consider an alternative medication. But they are =
actually generated for pharmaceutical company's sales purposes by a speci=
ally-designed marketing database, sold by Albertsons. Written authorizati=
on from the customer is not first provided as legally required.=20

Read more:
http://www.hipaadvisory.com/news/newsarchives/2004/0910prc.htm