Senate Bill No. 434
(By Senators Hunter and Foster)
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[Introduced February 1, 2007; referred to the Committee on Health
and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §30-5-12c and
§30-5-12d; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated §46A-2-139, all relating generally to
pharmacists and pharmacies; requiring that prescription
information containing patient-identifiable and
prescriber-identifiable data remain confidential; exceptions;
and providing that a violation of confidentiality is
actionable as an unfair or deceptive practice under the West
Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto two new sections, designated §30-5-12c and
§30-5-12d; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §46A-2-139, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 30. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.
ARTICLE 5. PHARMACISTS, PHARMACY TECHNICIANS, PHARMACY INTERNS
AND PHARMACIES.
§30-5-12c. Prescription information to be kept confidential.
Records relative to prescription information containing
patient-identifiable and prescriber-identifiable data may not be
licensed, transferred, used, or sold by any pharmacy benefits
manager, insurance company, electronic transmission intermediary,
retail, mail order, or Internet pharmacy or other similar entity,
for any commercial purpose, except for the limited purposes of
pharmacy reimbursement; formulary compliance; care management;
utilization review by a health care provider, the patient's
insurance provider or the agent of either; health care research; or
as otherwise provided by law. Commercial purpose includes, but is
not limited to, 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 health care professional, or evaluate the
effectiveness of a professional pharmaceutical detailing sales
force. Nothing in this section prohibits the dispensing of
prescription medications to a patient or to the patient's
authorized representative; the transmission of prescription
information between an authorized prescriber and a licensed
pharmacy; the transfer of prescription information between licensed pharmacies; the transfer of prescription records that may occur in
the event a pharmacy ownership is changed or transferred; care
management educational communications provided to a patient about
the patient's health condition, adherence to a prescribed course of
therapy or other information about the drug being dispensed,
treatment options, or clinical trials. Nothing in this section
prohibits the collection, use, transfer, or sale of patient and
prescriber de-identified data by zip code, geographic region, or
medical specialty for commercial purposes. In addition to other
appropriate remedies under this chapter, a violation of this
section is an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the
meaning of chapter forty-six-a of this code. Any right or remedy
set forth in chapter forty-six-a of this code for an unfair or
deceptive act or practice may be used to enforce the provisions of
this section.
§30-5-12d. Patient assistance program.
(a) Following the close of each calendar year, any
clearinghouse that provides information to West Virginia residents
about pharmaceutical manufacturers' patient assistance programs
shall, to the extent that the clearinghouse collects such
information, provide aggregate information to the secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services relative to either:
(1) The number of people in West Virginia who may qualify for
any manufacturer or government program during the calendar year; or
(2) The number of patients served during the calendar year.
(b) An individual company may provide additional information
about the individual company's patient assistance program; however,
the commissioner shall combine all information from all sources,
including individual companies and the clearinghouse, and shall
report only aggregate information to the public.
CHAPTER 46A. WEST VIRGINIA CONSUMER CREDIT
AND PROTECTION ACT.
ARTICLE 2. CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION.
§46A-2-139. Unlawful dissemination of
prescription data.
Any unlawful dissemination of prescription data pursuant to
section twelve-c, article five, chapter thirty of this code is an
unfair or deceptive act or practice. Any person that has had their
prescription data unlawfully disseminated pursuant to section
twelve-c, article five, chapter thirty of this code may have any of
the available remedies in this chapter as recourse against a person
or entity that violates section twelve-c, article five, chapter
thirty.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
require that prescription
information containing patient-identifiable and prescriber-
identifiable data remain confidential; exceptions; and to provide
that a violation of confidentiality is actionable as an unfair or
deceptive practice under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and
Protection Act.
These sections are
new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.