Vermont § 4631 - Confidentiality of prescription information

§ 4631. Confidentiality of prescription information

• (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly to advance the State’s interest in protecting
  the public health of Vermonters, protecting the privacy of prescribers and prescribing
  information, and to ensure costs are contained in the private health care sector,
  as well as for State purchasers of prescription drugs, through the promotion of less
  costly drugs and ensuring prescribers receive unbiased information. (b) As used in this section: (1) “Electronic transmission intermediary” means an entity that provides the infrastructure
  that connects the computer systems or other electronic devices used by health care
  professionals, prescribers, pharmacies, health care facilities and pharmacy benefit
  managers, health insurers, third-party administrators, and agents and contractors
  of those persons in order to facilitate the secure transmission of an individual’s
  prescription drug order, refill, authorization request, claim, payment, or other prescription
  drug information. (2) “Health care facility” shall have the same meaning as in section 9402 of this title. (3) “Health care professional” shall have the same meaning as health care provider in
  section 9402 of this title. (4) “Health insurer” shall have the same meaning as in section 9410 of this title. (5) “Marketing” shall include advertising, promotion, or any activity that is intended
  to be used or is used to influence sales or the market share of a prescription drug,
  influence or evaluate the prescribing behavior of an individual health care professional
  to promote a prescription drug, market prescription drugs to patients, or evaluate
  the effectiveness of a professional pharmaceutical detailing sales force. (6) “Pharmacy” means any individual or entity licensed or registered under 26 V.S.A. chapter 36. (7) “Prescriber” means an individual allowed by law to prescribe and administer prescription
  drugs in the course of professional practice. (8) “Promotion” or “promote” means any activity or product the intention of which is to
  advertise or publicize a prescription drug, including a brochure, media advertisement
  or announcement, poster, free sample, detailing visit, or personal appearance. (9) “Regulated records” means information or documentation from a prescription dispensed
  in Vermont and written by a prescriber doing business in Vermont. (c)(1) The Department of Health and the Office of Professional Regulation, in consultation
  with the appropriate licensing boards, shall establish a prescriber data-sharing program
  to allow a prescriber to give consent for his or her identifying information to be
  used for the purposes described under subsection (d) of this section. The Department
  and Office shall solicit the prescriber’s consent on licensing applications or renewal
  forms and shall provide a prescriber a method for revoking his or her consent. The
  Department and Office may establish rules for this program. (2) The Department or Office shall make available the list of prescribers who have consented
  to sharing their information. Entities who wish to use the information as provided
  for in this section shall review the list at minimum every six months. (d) A health insurer, a self-insured employer, an electronic transmission intermediary,
  a pharmacy, or other similar entity shall not sell, license, or exchange for value
  regulated records containing prescriber-identifiable information, nor permit the use
  of regulated records containing prescriber-identifiable information for marketing
  or promoting a prescription drug, unless the prescriber consents as provided in subsection
  (c) of this section. Pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmaceutical marketers shall
  not use prescriber-identifiable information for marketing or promoting a prescription
  drug unless the prescriber consents as provided in subsection (c) of this section. (e) The prohibitions set forth in subsection (d) of this section shall not apply to the
  following: (1) the sale, license, exchange for value, or use of regulated records for the limited
  purposes of pharmacy reimbursement; prescription drug formulary compliance; patient
  care management; utilization review by a health care professional, the patient’s health
  insurer, or the agent of either; or health care research; (2) the dispensing of prescription medications to a patient or to the patient’s authorized
  representative; (3) the transmission of prescription information between an authorized prescriber and
  a licensed pharmacy, between licensed pharmacies, or that may occur in the event a
  pharmacy’s ownership is changed or transferred; (4) care management educational communications provided to a patient about the patient’s
  health condition, adherence to a prescribed course of therapy, and other information
  relating to the drug being dispensed, treatment options, recall or patient safety
  notices, or clinical trials; (5) the collection, use, or disclosure of prescription information or other regulatory
  activity as authorized by chapter 84, chapter 84A, or section 9410 of this title, or as otherwise provided by law; (6) the collection and transmission of prescription information to a Vermont or federal
  law enforcement officer engaged in his or her official duties as otherwise provided
  by law; and (7) the sale, license, exchange for value, or use of patient and prescriber data for marketing
  or promoting if the data do not identify a prescriber, and there is no reasonable
  basis to believe that the data provided could be used to identify a prescriber. (f) In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the Attorney General may file an
  action in Superior Court for a violation of this section or of any rules adopted under
  this section by the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall have the same authority
  to investigate and to obtain remedies as if the action were brought under the Vermont
  Consumer Protection Act, 9 V.S.A. chapter 63. Each violation of this section or of any rules adopted under this section by the
  Attorney General constitutes a separate civil violation for which the Attorney General
  may obtain relief. (Added 2007, No. 80, § 17; amended 2007, No. 89 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 5, 2008; 2009, No. 59, § 1; 2011, No. 109 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 8, 2012; 2011, No. 136 (Adj. Sess.), § 1b, eff. May 18, 2012.)