Ban on US Rx data sales goes to appeal

The US state of New Hampshire has filed a law suit to appeal a decision by a US federal court on April 30, declaring a ban the commercial use of prescriber identifiable information as unconstitutional. The ruling declared a ban as violating the right to freedom of speech under the US constitution's First Amendment.

In a joint statement, two of the directly affected firms, IMS Health and Verispan, said they are "confident that Judge Paul Barbadoro's ruling will be upheld." They argued that there is no evidence that suppression of prescriber-level information will drive down health care costs, adding that "IMS Health and Verispan remain committed to working with state legislators who need access to more information, not less, to develop evidence-based health care reform policies that ultimately lower costs and improve overall patient care."