Daren Bakst writes:
… Recently, there was outrage over a proposal by the state sheriffs’ association that would allow sheriffs to have access to individual prescription information regarding painkillers and controlled substances. [see previous coverage here — Dissent]
While this outrage is justified, it misses an even bigger point. North Carolina government officials already have access to this information. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services collects this information from retail pharmacies and puts it into a massive database that currently contains over 53 million prescriptions.
The State Bureau of Investigation can access this database very easily — it only has to meet minor hurdles to obtain sensitive private health information.
Read more in the Lincoln Tribune.