§ 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.)