New Hampshire court victory for IMS and Verispan

A US federal judge yesterday sided with pharmaceutical data firms IMS Health and Verispan, declaring unconstitutional a New Hampshire law that banned the sale and commercial use of prescription data.

The judge ruled that the law “unconstitutionally restricted speech without directly serving the state's substantial interests”.

New Hampshire's legislation was intended to protect doctors from high-pressure sales pitches made by drugs company representatives who come armed with detailed information on the physician's prescribing practices.

However, IMS and Verispan claimed the law would ultimately “restrict the flow of prescriber information that is essential to improving the quality of healthcare and ensuring patient safety”.

Prescription data can be used to monitor the safety of medications, implement drug recalls, and communicate information to doctors about new treatments.

IMS and Verispan were supported by the Coalition for Healthcare Communication (CHC), whose executive director John Kamp said following the ruling: “Healthcare quality in the United States is inconsistent, with more Americans dying each year from preventable medical errors than from Aids or breast cancer. That is why it was so important to overturn this law.”

CHC members include the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers and the Medical Marketing Association.

Verispan vice president Jody Fisher said: “Patient privacy was never an issue in this litigation, as the information we collect does not identify individual patients. Our primary objective was to maintain transparency in the healthcare system, which is central to the efforts to improve quality of care in this nation.”

Although New Hampshire was the first state to pass such a law, it was not the first to have tried. According to an IMS statement, more than a dozen states have considered and rejected comparable legislation over the years.

IMS general counsel Robert Steinfeld added: “We know some states are still considering legislation modelled on the New Hampshire law. This important decision by Judge [Paul] Barbadoro clarifies that the constitution protects the dissemination of provider-identifiable information.”

Author: Brian Tarran

Related links:

Trial underway as IMS seeks to overturn New Hampshire law

IMS and Verispan set for court showdown with state of New Hampshire