SB 1096 -- California Bill Would Give Drug Companies Access to Patients' Pharmacy Records

I'm not writing about pharma issues as much these days as I was when I started this blog, but I've been really struck by the coverage of SB 1096, proposed by California Senator Ron Calderon, that basically appears to be a wholesale giveaway of patient privacy rights to drug companies. (Update: the bill has been killed.)

(Above: Sen. Calderon, author of SB 1096. Photo from the website of the San Francisco Chronicle.)

This bill would allow pharmacies "to sell confidential patient prescription information to third-party marketing firms working for drug companies," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Reporter Elizabeth Fernandez adds the following:

"This bill would be a windfall for corporations seeking to track, buy and sell a patient's private medical records," said Zack Kaldveer, spokesman for the Consumer Federation of California. "This would represent a significant intrusion by pharmaceutical companies into the privacy of patients.

"By opening this Pandora's box, consumers could wind up receiving mailings designed to look as if they came from the pharmacy yet conflict with what their pharmacist or doctor has recommended. Such a scenario would be a threat to their health."

The California Medical Association opposes the legislation, contending that it could jeopardize patient safety and hurt doctor-patient relationships. The mailings are particularly problematic for patients with sensitive medical issues such as mental illnesses, says the association.

...

Dr. Rupin Thakkar, a board member of the National Physicians Alliance, considers the proposed legislation a pharmaceutical ploy to gain access to important patient information.

"It's as if you were shopping in a supermarket and someone was following you and saying for everything you buy, 'You should try something different,' " said Thakkar, who practices in Edmonds, Wash.

"It's a horrible invasion of privacy - it amounts to marketing directly to patients in their homes. One's health care information absolutely needs to be private."

SB 1096 was approved by the Senate on May 30. This bill is opposed by the ACLU, as the Senate Floor Analysis indicates.