The exchange of prescribing information, often between pharmacies and drug companies and pharmacies and insurance companies, violates the doctor-patient relationship and it often violates the doctor's and the patient's privacy, physicians say. We're giving patients prescriptions that are best for them. It's a privacy issue, said Dr. Nelson and others at the meeting. Some doctors believe their privacy is violated when HMOs are able to compare their prescribing habits with the prescribing habits of other physicians in their specialty. They also feel violated when a representative from a drug company knows whether they are using a specific drug.
Patient privacy becomes an issue when prescribing data are sold.
But if you get a piece of mail marketing medical equipment for it, they're going to find out. Taking control Doctors have voiced concerns about prescribing data in the past and have called for Drug Enforcement Administration numbers to be used only for prescriptions. But now they want to see if legal action can be taken. Protect patients and physicians from using prescribing pattern information by pharmaceutical firms. Prevent anyone from using DEA numbers as pharmaceutical marketing tools.