Interview: Paul Harrington, data mining lawsuit

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Three data mining companies are suing the state of Vermont, as well as Maine and New Hampshire because new laws in those states are keeping them from getting information they want from doctors.

Paul Harrington is the head of the Vermont Medical Society. He spoke with VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb and he explained what the law does.

Note: We called the IMS Company in Norwalk, Connecticut yesterday for their reaction IMS Vice President of External Affairs Randy Frankel responded with this email message in which he says:

"The new laws in Vermont and Maine will have the same unintended consequences as the one in New Hampshire, blocking vital health care information from public view while doing nothing to drive down prescription drug costs or improve the health and well-being of citizens and, in fact, it’s very likely they will have the opposite effect. While we would have preferred to work with both states on alternatives, they have chosen instead to follow the same path as New Hampshire. We feel we have no choice but to protect access to this essential information by opposing any legislation of this nature."

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