VT wins battle to bar marketing use of Rx data

Vermont has won an important  battle in its war to block the use of prescriber-identifiable data for drug marketing. 

A law instituting such a block had been challenged by a group of prescription data vendors and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (otherwise known as the beloved PhRMA), on the grounds that, in essence, restricting such data uses restricted free speech. But a federal judge last week rejected the challenge, arguing that while prescribing information might indeed be protected free speech under the First Amendment, such freedoms can be appropriately limited if the limits advance a substantial government interest.

This bodes well for similar states in squabbles over "data mining," which have included Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

However, in New Hampshire, the battle has gone all the way to the Supreme Court, with data miners IMS Health and Wolters Kluwer Health as plaintiffs. Now that should be the case to watch.

To learn more about this issue:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
Federal appeals court upholds NH data mining ban
DC considers pharma rep licenses, data mining limits