Vermont defeat for Rx data firms

US health data companies IMS Health, SDI and the Philadelphia-based unit of the Netherlands' Wolters Kluwer Health have responded to the decision  by the US District Court in Vermont to uphold the state's prescription  restraint law (S115).

In a joint statement, the three firms declared: "we are disappointed  with Judge [J Garvan] Murtha's decision. We believe we presented a very  compelling argument at trial that these types of laws are not only  unconstitutional but that they do nothing to advance public health. The  key to improving health care quality, and reducing costs and variability  in treatment is access to more information - not less.  Prescriber-identifiable data is a critical resource in this information  flow for all stakeholders. We believe today's decision was the wrong one  and we are currently evaluating our legal options moving forward."

The verdict came after a five-day hearing in Brattleboro, Vermont, and  centered on whether the state was entitled to set aside the US  Constitution's First Amendment, which prohibits legislation restricting  freedom of speech, by arguing that commercial speech and the public  interest justified Vermont's legislation. Similar laws designed to stop  drugmakers from purchasing data that can be used to market more  effectively to physicians have been enacted in two other northeastern US  states - New Hampshire and Maine (Marketletters passim).