This alert just in from HHS OCR:
“It has come to our attention that a phishing email is being circulated on mock HHS Departmental letterhead under the signature of OCR’s Director, Jocelyn Samuels. This email appears to be an official government communication, and targets employees of HIPAA covered entities and their business associates. The email prompts recipients to click a link regarding possible inclusion in the HIPAA Privacy,… More
Late last night, HHS OCR issued its anticipated guidance on “The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Refill Reminders and Other Communications about a Drug or Biologic Currently Being Prescribed for the Individual.” A new “Fact Sheet” and corresponding “Frequently Asked Questions” attempt to explain how the refill reminder exception to the marketing rule works, and seek to address both the scope of communications that fall within the exception,… More
You may have seen the recent lawsuit alleging that HIPAA’s marketing regulations are unconstitutional. In that case, the plaintiff is a company that “provides a refill reminder service and other adherence messaging services,” Adheris, Inc.
Adheris sued the Department of Health and Human Services because HIPAA’s regulations threaten to put it out of business. In particular, HIPAA now requires patient authorizations for its kind of patient reminders. … More
As promised in our earlier entry, here is our detailed discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision in Sorrell v IMS Health, Inc.,written by Colin J. Zick, Pat A. Cerundolo, Tad Heuer
On Thursday, June 23, the United States Supreme Court voted 6-3 to strike down a Vermont statute that sought to impose significant restrictions on pharmaceutical detailing and “data mining”… More
The Supreme Court this morning voted 6-3 to strike down a Vermont statute that sought to impose significant restrictions on pharmaceutical data mining activities. Justice Kennedy’s opinion in the closely-watched case of IMS v. Sorrell held that the Vermont statute was an unconstitutional regulation of commercial speech.
The first paragraph of Justice Kennedy’s opinion provides a brief summary of the posture of the case and of the Court’s decision:
Vermont law restricts the sale,… More