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CNN Live Today
Debate Rages Over Selling Private Medical Information
Aired June 12, 2002 - 14:37 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We have a follow-up on a story we first brought to you last year. You might remember the case of Robert Courtney. He's a Kansas City pharmacist convicted of diluting cancer drugs to increase profits.
A number of people were suing his wife, saying Courtney allegedly transferred money to her before the government froze his assets. Now the wife has settled those lawsuits, agreeing to pay almost $2 million. Courtney is still awaiting sentencing.
A more common problem with pharmacies and some doctors is starting to get a lot of attention. Turns out some are selling patient-medical information to drug companies. Medical correspondent Rea Blakey has more on this. Hi, Rea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REA BLAKEY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Danzero (ph) thought the information he shared with his doctor and pharmacy was confidential. He was wrong.
PAUL DANZERO (PH), MEDICAL PATIENT: I feel that my privacy was violated.
BLAKEY: A couple of months after being treated for psoriasis through his HMO, Danzero says he started receiving these mailings about other psoriasis treatments.
(on camera): Somewhere along the way, your medical information was released without your consent, yes?
DANZERO: Exactly. It seemed pretty clear that either the physician or the pharmacy had released my name.
BLAKEY (voice-over): With fewer blockbuster drugs in the pipeline and more competition from generic drug makers, some pharmaceutical companies are paying pharmacies for direct access to you, the patient.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In order to provide educational information to patients, someone has to pay for it. And there definitely is a business relationship between the pharmaceutical manufacturer and the pharmacy. BLAKEY: In some cases that business relationship includes using customer information to make money from pharmaceutical companies. Pharmacies get about a dollar for every patient who gets a follow-up letter about medications or treatments. About $3 for each phone call to a patient.
(on camera): For Paul, the only problem is, he didn't authorize the release of his private medical information. Come April of 2003, new federal rules will take effect. They'll require health care providers to inform patients of just how their private medical information can be used, bought or sold.
CLAUDE ALLEN, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: What it really is designed to do is to put the patient in the driver's seat, of saying, I know what your practices are, I accept them or I reject them. And in the case of rejecting them, then you have the knowledge and the ability to say, I will choose to seek my services elsewhere.
BLAKEY (voice-over): That's not good enough, say opponents of the new rule. They say when it comes to privacy, the patient's word should be the last word.
DR. PAUL APPELBAUM, AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSN.: The government, if anything, under the current proposal, is opening up medical information to an extent that had not been true in the past. Traditionally, medical information was never released unless patients gave their consent for it. And that's the rule that we think should be carried forward.
BLAKEY: Patients who don't agree with their provider's practice of passing on medical information can try finding a new provider or pay out of pocket -- a tough proposition for Paul.
DANZERO: It's a scary feeling. I'm self-employed and my wife and I have individual health insurance. We're not part of a group plan. So if we were dropped, we'd be scrambling to find health insurance somewhere else.
BLAKEY: For some patients, opting out to preserve privacy simply isn't an option.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Medical correspondent Rea Blakey now joins us live from Washington. Question for you, the patient's psoriasis isn't terribly embarrassing, but are there other, more severe cases, Rea?
BLAKEY: Oh, absolutely, Kyra. One case in particular, a lawsuit pending in Florida, where an HIV patient is suing a pharmaceutical company for invasion of privacy. That patient said he received dozens of letters urging him to consider new drugs and even got a coupon for a free sample of a new drug.
Now, of course, the coupon for the free sample just happens to be more expensive than the comparable medication that he's currently taking.
PHILLIPS: So what should consumers do if they get these letters or mailings?
BLAKEY: First of all, keep in mind that abruptly changing or stopping your medication could cause health problems. So you really don't want to do that. You want to consult your health care provider.
Insulin, for example, diabetics who take insulin need to have that regulated, need to have the same type regularly. And even though the pharmaceutical companies are directly marketing to the consumer, always consult your current doctor or health care provider, who's familiar with your case, about whether or not you should consider changing medications.
PHILLIPS: So, Rea, isn't it fair to say that the drug companies are just trying to educate consumers, get people to refill drugs that they're already taking?
BLAKEY: Yes, there is truth to that. And I'm sure that is exactly what's going on in many cases. But also keep in mind that there could be, for example, a generic alternative on the market that contains exactly the same ingredients as a brand name that's out there. But generics generally are considerably cheaper. They cost a portion of the price, mainly because those companies don't do a lot of research and development, that adds on to the price tag when you, the consumer, go to the pharmacy.
PHILLIPS: Medical correspondent Rea Blakey, thanks so much.
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