Zack Kaldveer of the Consumer Federation of California writes:
The California Senate rejected a bill this week by a vote of 17 to 17 (21 needed to “passâ€) that would have allowed the sharing of a patient’s confidential medical information regarding prescription drugs among a pharmacy, third party corporations and pharmaceutical companies. The bill was granted a second chance to pass the Senate next week.
The Consumer Federation of California opposed SB 1096 (Calderon) because it raised significant privacy and health care concerns for patients. The bill would have created an exception to California’s Medical Information Act, and allow sharing of confidential patient drug prescription information without a patient’s consent. The bill’s main backer, Adheris Inc., is a subsidiary of inVentiv Health Inc., a drug marketing company.
The California Constitution and the people of our state won a temporary victory Thursday.
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