New US Rx data laws opposed in two states

Three leading health information companies, IMS Health, Wolters Kluwer Health, via its subsidiary Source Healthcare Analytics and Verispan, have filed law suits in the US District Courts for both Maine and Vermont, which challenge new state laws designed to restrict the collection and disclosure of physician prescribing information.

The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to delay enforcement of the statutes, which take effect January 1, 2008. These are based on New Hampshire's Prescription Restraint Law, which was struck down as unconstitutional in the US District Court for New Hampshire in April this year. The state authorities in that case have announced their intention to appeal the ruling (Marketletter May 14). The three specialist data analyst firms acted with "the goal of maintaining greater transparency and the free flow of information in the nation's health care system," according to a joint statement.

The plaintiffs argue that the statutes conflict with the national movement toward greater transparency in health care practices and with the ruling handed down by US District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro in New Hampshire in April.