IMS Challenges State Laws Restricting Access to Critical Healthcare Information
With the goal of maintaining greater transparency and the free flow of information in the nation’s healthcare system, IMS has legally challenged state laws passed in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont that restrict the access to, and use of, provider-identified prescription data.
Two federal courts have now looked at these laws and ruled against them. Last May, Federal District Judge Paul Barbadaro struck down the New Hampshire law on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment protection of truthful commercial speech. And just before Christmas last year, Federal District Judge John Woodcock issued a preliminary injunction against the Maine statute on similar grounds, calling the data: “Not simply useful; it is valuable.”
Vermont’s data restriction law is scheduled to be heard in federal district court in Brattleboro, Vermont on July 28, 2008. However, recognizing what the Vermont Attorney General’s office has described as an “uphill battle” trying to defend the law in court, the state has enacted, on March 5, 2008, what the governor described as a “temporary repeal” deferring the effective date of the data restriction law to July 1, 2009.
Prior to that date, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston is expected to rule on an appeal by New Hampshire on its law.
Click on the links below for more information about the legislation and litigation status in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont – as well as the beneficial applications of prescribing data. You'll find updates, legal documents, press releases, position papers, news articles and more:
