The Los Angeles Times reports on the practice of data mining by drugmakers, explaining that the companies can obtain prescribing “data from pharmacies and health insurers, [allowing them to] learn the prescribing habits of thousands of doctors. That information has become not just a powerful sales and marketing tool for the pharmaceutical industry but also a source of growing concern among some elected officials, healthcare advocates and legal authorities.”
The Times explains the controversy surrounding the practice, noting that three states have passed “legislation limiting or outlawing the practice,” while 20 others have considered similar provisions. Notably, “the FDA has been silent on prescription data mining,” but legislation banning the practice has “been floated by federal lawmakers.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
