hb 1346

CHAPTER 328

HB 1346 – FINAL VERSION

AN ACT requiring certain persons to keep the contents of prescriptions confidential.

SPONSORS: Rep. Rosenwald, Hills 22; Rep. MacKay, Merr 11; Rep. Miller, Straf 7; Rep. Price, Hills 26; Sen. Gottesman, Dist 12; Sen. Foster, Dist 13; Sen. Martel, Dist 18; Sen. Larsen, Dist 15

This bill declares that prescription information shall not be used, transferred, licensed, or sold for any commercial purpose except for limited purposes.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT requiring certain persons to keep the contents of prescriptions confidential.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

328:1 New Sections; Pharmacists and Pharmacies; Prescription Information to be Kept Confidential. Amend RSA 318 by inserting after section 47-e the following new sections:

318:47-f Prescription Information to be Kept Confidential. Records relative to prescription information containing patient-identifiable and prescriber-identifiable data shall 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 shall prohibit 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 shall prohibit 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 RSA 358-A:2. Any right or remedy set forth in RSA 358-A may be used to enforce the provisions of this section.

I. Following the close of each calendar year, any clearinghouse that provides information to New Hampshire residents about pharmaceutical manufacturers’ patient assistance programs shall, to the extent that the clearinghouse collects such information, provide aggregate information to the commissioner of the department of health and human services relative to either:

(a) The number of people in New Hampshire who may qualify for any manufacturer or government program during the calendar year; or

II. 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.

328:2 New Paragraph; Controlled Drug Act; Prescription Information to be Kept Confidential. Amend RSA 318-B:12 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:

IV. Records relative to prescription information containing patient-identifiable and prescriber-identifiable data shall 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 required 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 paragraph shall prohibit 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 shall prohibit 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 paragraph is an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the meaning of RSA 358-A:2. Any right or remedy set forth in RSA 358-A may be used to enforce the provisions of this paragraph.