By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – I'm still not sure what to make of this new form I sign at every health care provider I visit. I read advertisers and pharmaceutical companies are annoyed by it. Good. Well, they've gotten around it. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 - or HIPAA - finally took full effect in April. For the patient/consumer, it has meant one broad important thing. There are now restrictions on who can see my medical records. I must be notified and give my permission for anyone else to view this personal information. And according to the New York Times, this has thrown a heavy wrench into the way pharmaceutical and health care companies market their goods.
The Times gives a perfect example of how marketing used to work before the implementation of HIPAA. "Doctors could provide a list of newly pregnant women to manufacturers of formula, diapers and vitamins. Those companies could then send marketing materials and samples to the patients." Sounds innocent enough. Who wouldn't want to receive a coupon on anything medical, knowing how high the expenses are of those items? Besides, if it's coming from your doctor, it must mean the products are recommended. And I've complained more once about the underhanded way pharmacies sold my information to drug companies. In a very "this is for your own good" way, I'd receive material about a competing drug that usually cost more than the one I was taking.
So now that I've signed that little HIPAA agreement, nobody can do anything with my information without my written permission. So what's a drug company to do? Get the professional I trust most during times of vulnerability, my doctor, to ask me for my name and address to pass on to advertisers. Therefore I've "opted-in" to receive an onslaught of coupons and samples of all kinds of medical goodies. And you know what else? There's nothing to say they can't sell my name and address to other advertisers. And this is how Madison Avenue gets around HIPAA. So the next time you're in your doctor's waiting room and see one those many, fill-this-out-and-send-it-in-for-something-free forms, just be aware of what the future holds for you. For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
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