PRIVATE INFORMATION OR PUBLIC COMMODITY?

Feb 22nd, 1998 • Posted in: News

PENNSYLVANIA

Giant Food Stores last week severed its contract with a firm that provides marketing data to retail pharmacy chains based on patient medical records and prescription drug use patterns. Another chain, CVS/Pharmacy, is now reviewing its alliance with Elensys, Inc., a Massachusetts-based computer and data firm that services more than 20 retail pharmacy and supermarket/pharmacy chains.

The controversy revolves around the sharing of medical information — including patient names, medication histories, and other personal data — among the big chains and Elensys. Using these data, Elensys mails refill reminders and announcements of new drug availability to consumers based on their past prescription usage.

This new technique in drug marketing has raised legal and ethical concerns.

Two U.S. Senators, Robert F. Bennett (R-UT) and Joseph Gartlan, Jr., (D-VA), have sponsored legislation designed to address growing concerns over unauthorized distribution of medical information.

Beyond the legal questions, ethical issues will likely persist. The doctor-patient relationship, once considered inviolable, is now challenged by high-tech and high-finance. Modern computer systems allow easy cross-matching and manipulation of data, creating new marketing venues in the expanding health care market.

Prescription drugs are among the most profitable of health products. Pharmaceutical sales are approaching $80 billion annually, and marketing expenditures have risen to more than five times their 1993 level.

These and other trends have prompted pharmaceutical and marketing firms to frequently bypass physicians and target consumers directly.

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