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NH Gov. signs Rx data restriction bill, AMA opt-out program goes into effect

Pharma Compliance Alert, July 12, 2006

Within the last two weeks, pharmaceutical companies' access to prescribing data has become more restricted with the passage of a New Hampshire bill and the American Medical Association's (AMA) new opt-out policy.

On July 1, the AMA launched the Prescribing Data Restriction Program. The Web-based program will allow doctors to opt-out of providing their prescribing data to pharma sales reps. A growing number of physicians consider the data gathering an intrusion. Doctors can also register complaints against a company or individual who has used the information inappropriately, according to the AMA's position paper about the topic. Go to the AMA Web site to read the paper.

Perhaps more troubling is the passage of a bill making New Hampshire the first state in the nation to bar pharmas from obtaining prescribing information. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed the bill into law on June 30. According to the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, the law bans the sale or use of patient and prescriber identity for use in pharmaceutical marketing. "Marketing" includes "advertising, marketing, promotion, or any activity that could be used to influence sales or market share of a pharmaceutical product, influence or evaluate the prescribing behavior of an individual healthcare professional, or evaluate the effectiveness of a professional pharmaceutical detailing sales force." Read the full text of the bill here.

Although members of a pharma panel at last month's Pharmaceutical Executive Marketing and Sales Summit felt that "most docs have a good relationship with their reps and won't opt out," under the AMA's new option, Dominique Hurley, vice president of marketing solutions at Dendrite, suggests otherwise. Hurley told the panel that experts expect up to 45,000 physicians to join the AMA's opt-out ranks.

This trend could severely compromise marketing techniques, noted Pharmaceutical Executive panel members, and they suggested pharma should be working more closely with the AMA so "physicians recognize the benefits pharma offers."

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