US federal court blocks Maine Rx data law

The US District Court for the District of Maine has granted the preliminary injunction sought by health data giants IMS Health, Wolters Kluwer Health (via its subsidiary Source Healthcare Analytics) and Verispan to block enforcement of Maine's Prescription Restraint Law (LD 4). In granting the injunction, US District Judge John Woodcock ruled that "the Law amounts to an unconstitutional abridgement of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution."

Robert Steinfeld, IMS senior vice president and general counsel, said: "we are pleased with Judge Woodcock's thoughtful 42-page decision. We believe that restrictions on the dissemination of information of crucial public interest are neither good health care policy nor consistent with our society's core beliefs in the free flow of information."

The new law, which bans the use of physician prescribing information for marketing, was enacted in June 2007 and was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2008. The preliminary injunction blocks enforcement of the law. The decision will maintain the status quo until a final ruling is reached in the law suit filed in 2007 by IMS, Wolters Kluwer Health and Verispan.