Hello leonapayne:
Thanks for the interesting question.
While it appears that there is no specific laws preventing a
pharmacist from divulging a patient's prescription history, there do
appear to be other types of roadblocks to their releasing this
information without the patient's consent.
The two largest roadblocks to improper release of prescription
information are:
* The pharmacist's code of ethics
* The threat of lawsuits for damages
Some supporting information on all of this:
Legal Matters - Are Your Medication Records Confidential?
URL: ://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:1_oIE3P0l1gC:www.medscape.com/viewarticle/416839_3+pharmacist+privilege+confidentiality&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Quote:
"The right of privacy is protected by 2 federal laws: the Privacy Act
and the Freedom of Information Act; however, they generally do not
apply to private organizations such as PBMs. Protection for the right
of privacy on the state level varies by jurisdiction; however, there
is little authority in most states governing the confidentiality of
prescription records. Moreover, while a minority of states have
adopted an explicit right of privacy in their constitutions, the state
constitutions, like the US Constitution, protect against governmental
action only.
Most states also recognize some form of a physician-patient privilege,
which protects patient information. In most states, this privilege is
limited to physicians and is not extended to pharmacists. Moreover, no
state expressly provides for a pharmacist-patient privilege, either by
common law or by statute.
Finally, while patient information is protected in the pharmacy
context by the pharmacist's code of ethics, such principles are not
imposed on pharmacists by statute or common law in all states.
Moreover, such code of ethics does not protect health care information
if it has been disclosed to a third party such as a PBM."
The Pharmacy's Duty to Protect Confidentiality
URL: http://www.pmgrx.com/pdpc.asp
Quote: "When can a pharmacist release a patient’s prescription
records? This is a common question which needs to be correctly
answered. Failure to do so could result in an action for damages
against the pharmacy, as Rite Aid discovered in Washburn v. Rite Aid
Corp.1, a Rhode Island case.
The Washburns were in the process of a contested divorce when Mr.
Washburn's attorney subpoenaed Mrs. Washburn's prescription records
from Rite Aid. The subpoena requested a representative from Rite Aid
bring to court the records for both Mr. and Mrs. Washburn for the last
five years. The clear language of this type of subpoena in Rhode
Island requires the pharmacy representative to bring the requested
records to court and then release them as ordered by the court.
However, Rite Aid's usual practice was followed in this case.
Unfortunately, many pharmacies would handle a subpoena in the same way
Rite Aid did. Rather than bring the requested records to the
deposition as stated in the subpoena, copies of the records were
mailed directly to Mr. Washburn's attorney. There was no release
received from the wife or her attorney for this action.
The Court concluded that this was an unauthorized release of
confidential records."
Pharmacist Code of Ethics from APhA
URL: http://www.uspharmd.com/rxcode.htm
Quote: "A Pharmacist should respect the confidential and personal
nature of his professional records; except where the best interest of
the patient requires or the law demands, he should not disclose such
information to anyone without proper patient authorization."
Privacy & Your Pharmacist
URL: ://www.google.ca/search?q=cache:zaY0OeUJQkEC:www.injuryboard.com/causeHeadlineNewsArticle.cfm/hurl/varFrom%3DLeveltwocause/fstlc%3D3/seclc%3D70/Article%3D142+pharmacist+%22prescription+records%22+privacy&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Quote: "A New York court has ruled that pharmacies owe patrons a
fiduciary duty of confidentiality with respect to prescriptions
records. This ruling comes after a man with AIDS, who claims to
represent a group of New York citizens, decided to sue CVS Corp. and a
pharmacy that sold his prescription records to CVS in 1999. New York
Supreme Court Judge Charles Edward Ramos wrote that, to the best of
his knowledge, no other New York court had ruled on pharmacists' and
pharmacies' fiduciary duty of confidentiality. According to Ramos'
ruling, since pharmacists gather confidential medical information and
provide advice to patients, those patients have the right to expect
that the information will remain confidential. Ramos also commented,
"it is well-settled in New York that a fiduciary duty arises, even in
a commercial transaction, where one party reposed trust and confidence
in another who exercises discretionary functions for the party's
benefit or possesses superior expertise on which the party relied."
The New York judge will rule upon the class action status of the case
shortly."
Of course, all this information assumes that you are living in the
United States. If this is not the case, please let me know where you
are exactly using the Clarification Request feature.
I hope this information helps with your research.
If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,
please ask using the clarification feature and provide me with
additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please
allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this
answer.
Thank you.
websearcher-ga
Search Strategy (on Google):
pharmacist "prescription records" privacy
pharmacist privilege patient information
pharmacist privilege confidentiality
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