I can tell you that there have been three state court cases in 2002 that ruled that law enforcement can use pharmacy records to make arrests of individuals who fake prescriptions or sell their prescription drugs. In those cases, the state courts ruled that the records sent by pharmacies to state regulators could be used by law enforcement, thus avoiding the need for subpoenas and due process. So the issue gets bigger. Regards, Dennis Melamed Editor Health Information Privacy Alert 703.704-5665
-----Original Message----- From: Mimi Hart [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 4:17 PM To: WEDI SNIP Privacy Workgroup List Subject: Re: Here is a good Privacy Issue that will cause problems My gut feeling tells me "huge issue"...I don't know if there is something in public health law that would state that it is being done in the best interests of the patient and is therefore okay.....hopefully one of the lawyers on the group will weigh in. MIMI Mimi Hart ӿ�* Research Analyst, HIPAA Iowa Health System 319-369-7767 (phone) 319-369-8365 (fax) 319-490-0637 (pager) [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> "Rebekah Savoie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 01/15/03 02:53PM >>> Today, a clinic that I work with received a letter from a local pharmacy about a patient that was a "Drug Seeker" as we call them. Over the course of 30 days he had been to several doctors and several pharmacies and received over 350 total pills all a controlled substance. What happens to the pharmacy's ability to do these types of things under Privacy? Clearly, pharmacist were communicated information back and forth to each other and to physicians on this person. They even sent letters to all physicians in the area. Problem? yes or no Rebekah Savoie, CCS-P Healthcare Consultant --- The WEDI SNIP listserv to which you are subscribed is not moderated. The discussions on this listserv therefore represent the views of the individual participants, and do not necessarily represent the views of the WEDI Board of Directors nor WEDI SNIP. If you wish to receive an official opinion, post your question to the WEDI SNIP Issues Database at http://snip.wedi.org/tracking/. These listservs should not be used for commercial marketing purposes or discussion of specific vendor products and services. They also are not intended to be used as a forum for personal disagreements or unprofessional communication at any time. 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You are currently subscribed to wedi-privacy as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe from this list, go to the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org or send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you need to unsubscribe but your current email address is not the same as the address subscribed to the list, please use the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org --- The WEDI SNIP listserv to which you are subscribed is not moderated. The discussions on this listserv therefore represent the views of the individual participants, and do not necessarily represent the views of the WEDI Board of Directors nor WEDI SNIP. If you wish to receive an official opinion, post your question to the WEDI SNIP Issues Database at http://snip.wedi.org/tracking/. These listservs should not be used for commercial marketing purposes or discussion of specific vendor products and services. They also are not intended to be used as a forum for personal disagreements or unprofessional communication at any time. You are currently subscribed to wedi-privacy as: [email protected] To unsubscribe from this list, go to the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org or send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you need to unsubscribe but your current email address is not the same as the address subscribed to the list, please use the Subscribe/Unsubscribe form at http://subscribe.wedi.org
