Briefs

May 13, Gov Health IT. The Coalition for Patient Privacy and 25 of its member organizations are asking Congress not to pass an e-prescribing mandate unless it includes provisions for protecting the privacy of prescription information.

In a letter to lawmakers, the coalition said the sale of prescription information for data-mining purposes has been a reality for more than a decade. "Mandating e-prescribing without privacy provisions endorses and encourages the current practices," the letter states.

The letter requests that 11 protections be included in any e-prescribing legislation, including a provision that would allow doctors to continue writing paper prescriptions without penalty. Another would "require that any prescription data transmitted via e-prescribing be used only for the express purpose of prescription filling and submitting the necessary codes to the insurer for payment."

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