AMA helping drugmakers with data-mining of individual physicians and patients

[dajoki]

Doctors, Legislators Resist Drugmakers' Prying Eyes
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 22, 2007; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/21/AR2007052101701.html?nav=trm

Seattle pediatrician Rupin Thakkar's first inkling that the pharmaceutical industry was peering over his shoulder and into his prescription pad came in a letter from a drug representative about the generic drops Thakkar prescribes to treat infectious pinkeye.

In the letter, the salesperson wrote that Thakkar was causing his patients to miss more days of school than they would if he put them on Vigamox, a more expensive brand-name medicine made by Alcon Laboratories.

"My initial thought was 'How does she know what I'm prescribing?' " Thakkar said. "It feels intrusive. . . . I just feel strongly that medical encounters need to be private."

<<snip>>

The concerns are not merely about privacy. Proponents say using such detailed data for drug marketing serves mainly to influence physicians to prescribe more expensive medicines, not necessarily to provide the best treatment.

<<snip>>

The American Medical Association, a larger and far more established group, makes millions of dollars each year by helping data-mining companies link prescribing data to individual physicians. It does so by licensing access to the AMA Physician Masterfile, a database containing names, birth dates, educational background, specialties and addresses for more than 800,000 doctors.

[ThomCat]

1. That's sick. It's just one more intrusion.

Is there any medical privacy left?

[dajoki]

2. Is there ANY privacy left? n/t