One might think that a visit to your physician would remain a private affair between you and your doctor. You,would be wrong. The Washington Post in today's editions gives some insight into how it is done. Why? Who condones it. Along with the efforts of some state legislatures to curb the practice.
Seattle pediatrician Rupin Thakkar's first inkling that the pharmaceutical industry was peering over his shoulder and into his prescription pad came in a letter from a drug representative about the generic drops Thakkar prescribes to treat infectious pinkeye.
In the letter, the salesperson wrote that Thakkar was causing his patients to miss more days of school than they would if he put them on Vigamox, a more expensive brand-name medicine made by Alcon Laboratories
So, here is trained physician prescribing a medicine which he feels best fits the needs of his patient and what happens? Alcon Laboratories sends him a nice little letter implying negligence on his part because he didn't prescribe Vigamox a drug they manufacture which sells at a much higher price.
How did Alocn Laboratories know what drugs Dr. Thakkar was prescribing to his patients? By contracting with a data mining company. What's most disturbing to me is that the American Medical Association "AMA" went right along with by providing the companies access to their medical data base which allows the major pharmaceutical companies to track what medicines doctors are prescribing. Is the AMA doing this for altruistic reasons? of course not. The AMA is making millions of dollars off of this little scam each year.
Here is what the data base provides
the AMA Physician Masterfile, a database containing names, birth dates, educational background, specialties and addresses for more than 800,000 doctors.
Were there protests? Of, course.
After complaints from some members, the AMA last year began allowing doctors to "opt out" and shield their individual prescribing information from salespeople, although drug companies can still get it. So far, 7,476 doctors have opted out, AMA officials said.
State Legislatures have become involved in this issue because they see it as one of confidentiality between a doctor and patient. The article talks about the New Hampshire State Legislatures efforts to pass an effective law to put a stop to the practice and to keep doctor patient confidentiality intact. After the laws passage it was challenged in court by the drug companies. In a recent ruling the Federal District court sided with the pharmaceutical manufacturers saying it was a matter of Commercial Free Speech.
Isn't it nice to know that profit has the ability to over ride a patients right to privacy when it comes to their medical needs and care.
Health-care-data firms wina key court battle
A judge struck down a N.H. ban on gathering information used to target doctors for sales pitches.
By Thomas Ginsberg
Inquirer Staff Writer
In a key courtroom victory for the pharmaceutical industry, health-care-data companies have won the right to continue gathering prescription data and using it to target physicians in sales pitches.
A federal judge in New Hampshire, ruling late Monday, struck down that state's 2006 ban on prescription data-mining, saying the ban violated commercial free speech.