-Caveat Lector- Woman sues after receiving unsolicited Prozac in mail
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (July 4, 2002 12:44 a.m. EDT) - A Florida woman opened her mailbox last month to find a free box of once-a-week Prozac from her pharmacy chain - astonishing, she says, since she didn't use Prozac and hadn't asked her doctor to switch her from another antidepressant to it. It's not clear how many other patients received unsolicited Prozac - the woman's attorneys say they know of two more so far - or if the apparent campaign to sign up new Prozac customers extended beyond south Florida. Prozac maker Eli Lilly & Co. issued an apology for the incident late Friday and says it's investigating. The Food and Drug Administration is watching closely. The Prozac mailings may mark the first time a powerful prescription drug was sent to patients neither expecting nor wanting new pills - an apparent twist on marketing campaigns to persuade patients to switch medications. "I'm incredulous," said drug safety expert Michael Cohen of the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices, who called the mailings dangerous. "You might have (people) other than the patient picking it up out of the mailbox and taking it. It could be a child." The big question: Is mailing patients unsolicited prescription drugs, as if they were detergent samples, legal? Laws governing prescription-writing and pharmacy practices vary by state. The drugstore chain Walgreens maintains it properly filled prescriptions from doctors' offices and mailed them for free because it had "coupons" from Lilly to provide reimbursement. The Florida woman's doctors aren't talking. Lilly issued a statement late Friday saying it was inappropriate to mail medicine to patients without their request. "To the extent Lilly personnel may have participated in this program, Lilly apologizes to those patients affected by it," said spokeswoman Debbie Davis. "We are investigating this matter vigorously and if company policies were violated, Lilly will take appropriate action." The FDA - which regulates prescription medicines, their makers and their marketing - is monitoring the case to see whether it needs to intervene. "Although the acts of prescribing and providing the drug likely come under state jurisdiction, FDA intends to keep an eye on this case because of the promotion issues it may raise," said spokesman Larry Bachorik. The Broward County, Fla., woman, identified in court documents only as S.K., this week sued her doctors, Walgreens and Lilly, charging invasion of privacy and improper medical practice. "Dear Patient," reads a letter accompanying the pills that was signed by her local doctors. "We are very excited to be able to offer you a more convenient way to take your antidepressant medication. "For your convenience, enclosed you will find a FREE one-month trial of Prozac Weekly," the letter continues, before cautioning patients to stop their regular antidepressant one day before starting the once-a-week version. "It really upset me," S.K. said in a telephone interview arranged by one of her attorneys, Stephen Sheller of Philadelphia. She said her grandchildren might have opened and swallowed the mailed drug, and anyone seeing her mail would learn she had depression, which she keeps private. "Then I started to think, 'Wait a minute, how did they know to send them to me?'" S.K. said her doctor maintains the office physicians signed a blank form letter provided by a Lilly salesman. S.K.'s medical records show no Prozac prescription, said fellow attorney Gary Farmer Jr. of Fort Lauderdale. Representatives for the doctors' office, Holy Cross Medical Group, did not return calls seeking comment. The lawsuit charges that Walgreens must have allowed access to patient prescription records, providing Lilly with a list of antidepressant users. S.K. said she tried Prozac once years ago - the prescription was filled by a Walgreens in Massachusetts, she contends - but had a bad side effect and switched to a competing drug that she has used ever since. Walgreens didn't allow anyone access to patient records and properly filled prescriptions from doctors' offices for all the Prozac it mailed, said Michael Polzin from the chain's Deerfield, Ill., headquarters. He wouldn't say how many samples Walgreens mailed, or how much the Lilly coupons reimbursed the pharmacy for the drugs. A month's supply of Prozac Weekly costs about $63 wholesale. "How would we know the patient didn't know the prescription was coming?" Polzin asked. ------------------------ "In little more than a year we have gone from enjoying peace and the most prosperous economy in our history, to a nation plunged into war, recession and fear. This is a nation being transformed before our very eyes." http://www.truthout.com Steve Wingate, Webmaster ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
