Manatt recently teamed with health care privacy expert Janlori Goldman of Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health to explore the public policy ramifications of state efforts to regulate use of patient de-identified health information. In an article published in the April 6 issue of BNA’s Privacy & Security Law Report, they highlight the unintended consequences of restricting access to this information, which is integral to evaluating and improving health care quality.

The article comes on the heels of litigation between two health information companies and the state of New Hampshire, which passed a law that makes it a crime – a felony for businesses – to transfer or use for commercial purposes information about doctors’ prescribing behavior, including information that does not identify the patient.

Please see full newsletter for more information.