IMS Health and Verispan challenge privacy law

IMS Health and Verispan, two firms that gather data about the prescribing habits of US physicians, are challenging a New Hampshire law that prohibits the commercial use of such information. The case is seen as a precedent, because three other US states - Nebraska, Nevada and Missouri - have already introduced similar legislation. The state of New York is likely to follow suit later this year.

The rationale for the privacy bill is that doctors face "inappropriate" marketing from drugmakers, according to New Hampshire's Senior Assistant Attorney General, Richard Head. "The New Hampshire Legislature concluded that the practice causes doctors to prescribe more expensive drugs when a less-expensive clinically-equivalent drug would otherwise be prescribed," Mr Head told the MSNBC on-line news service.

However, critics of the legislation note that the "data mining by IMS Health and Verispan provides the basis for national research databases. The two firms also argue that the prohibition violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression. Thomas Julin, an attorney representing IMS Health, said: "when the government decides it doesn't want information published that is in the hands of private entities, it has to show it has a compelling reason." Drugmakers use the prescribing data "to provide current information about drugs to physicians who need it most," according to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA).