Your prescription is their business.
December 7, 2004 10:26 PM Subscribe
Just Say No To Drug Stores. As we've previously discussed, drug companies aggressively market to doctors and consumers.
In September, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse sued supermarket chain Albertsons for allegedly violating consumer rights by being paid to promote the products of pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca with calls and letters based on personal prescription history. If you've been pitched by your drugstore, the PRC would like to know (confidentially, of course).
This practice sounds like it's in gross violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rules regarding use and disclosure of individual protected health information (PHI), assuming that the targeted individuals did not in some way previously grant permission for their information to be used for marketing purposes.
Potential violations like this can be reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights. You can file a complaint by calling 1-866-627-7748 (toll-free) or following these instructions to submit a letter.
On a less formal note, I sincerely hope that the slimy marketeers that dreamed up this stunt get nailed to the wall but good.
posted by clever sheep at 10:26 AM on December 8, 2004
Potential violations like this can be reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights. You can file a complaint by calling 1-866-627-7748 (toll-free) or following these instructions to submit a letter.
On a less formal note, I sincerely hope that the slimy marketeers that dreamed up this stunt get nailed to the wall but good.
posted by clever sheep at 10:26 AM on December 8, 2004
Oh, and great find, melissa may!
posted by clever sheep at 10:27 AM on December 8, 2004
posted by clever sheep at 10:27 AM on December 8, 2004
« Older My childhood, ruined! | Legal questions surround Texas hold 'em Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
"A new report released today by AARP found the annual rate of manufacturers' price increases for the 197 brand name prescription drugs most commonly used by older Americans more than tripled the rate of inflation over the 12 month period ending on September 30, 2004.
As part of an ongoing series of AARP studies, Trends in Manufacturers Prices for Brand Name Drugs Most Commonly Used by Older Americans - Second and Third Quarter 2004 Update, reported that manufacturers' prices increased 7.4 percent, on average, from September 2003 to September 2004. The rate of general inflation during that same 12-month time period was 2.3 percent."
Good substantive post Melissa May, thanks! I have gotten pharmaceutical mailings but never made a connection. If it happens again, I will report it to PRC.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:28 AM on December 8, 2004