Alert: Have You Received Unsolicited Marketing Letters
or Phone Calls Regarding Your Personal Prescriptions
from Pharmaceutical Companies? We Want to Hear from You

Some patients who get their prescriptions filled through supermarket pharmacies and chain drug stores such as Albertson's, Walgreens, RiteAid, SavOn and CVS may be surprised to get a solicitation in the mail that looks like a friendly reminder to refill their prescription. The solicitation might also suggest that they try a different brand of the same medication.

Why are consumers receiving these solicitations from pharmacies? Because pharmacies allow pharmaceutical companies to ghost write solicitations that the pharmacies then charge them for sending to (or at times placing a phone call to) relevant customers. And the pharmacies make more money selling the more expensive drugs the pharmaceutical companies are recommending.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is concerned that this practice violates the laws of many states where medical information is supposed to be held in confidence and not used for marketing purposes. If you've received a solicitation in the mail or a phone call from your pharmacy or a marketer working on behalf of the pharmacy suggesting that you switch to another brand of drug or that you talk to your doctor about a refill, please let us know. http://www.privacyrights.org/about_us.htm#contact

A letter consumers can tailor to send to their pharmacy is available at:
http://www.privacyrights.org/Letters/medical1.htm

For more information about about the PRC's case against pharmacies for selling medical information for marketing purposes, go to:
http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/PharmRelease.htm

Copyright © 2004. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse/UCAN. This copyrighted document may be copied and distributed for nonprofit, educational purposes only. For distribution, see our copyright and reprint guidelines. The text of this document may not be altered without express authorization of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. This document should be used as an information source and not as legal advice. PRC documents contain information about federal laws as well as some California-specific information. Laws in other states may vary. Overall, our information is applicable to consumers nationwide.