Federal Court Upholds Vermont Datamining Legislation
207-242-8558
In IMS v. Sorrell,
issued Thursday, April 23, 2009, Judge J. Garvan Murtha, of the United
States District Court for the District of Vermont, upheld Vermont
legislation restricting the use of prescription data for marketing
purposes. In the same decision, the Court also upheld legislation
creating an evidence-based education program for prescribers and
creating a consumer fraud cause of action for advertisements printed,
distributed or sold in Vermont that violate federal law.
Focusing
on the restriction on the use of prescriber data for marketing
purposes, the Vermont Court recognized that the use of prescriber
profiling increased the cost of health care by only fueling the
overwhelming marketing of the most expensive branded medications. The
court went on to recognize that data-driven marketing resulted in the
prescription of newer medicines counter to best evidence-based
guidelines.
The Court recognized the importance of deferring to
the legislature in when deciding the best methods to control rising
health care costs. As stated in the opinion "On this record, the Court
will not substitute its judgment for that of the legislature."
This
decision comes after the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals
for the First Circuit ruling in November that upheld New Hampshire's
data-mining regulation in November in IMS v. Ayotte.
Click here for the full text of the ruling. (176 KB PDF)
For more information:
Sharon Treat
207-242-8558
streat@reducedrugprices.org
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