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New Senate Bill Threatens to Ban Pharma Data Mining

A Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) last week, seeks to prohibit pharma companies from using data mining for the purpose of marketing. Data mining, or the gathering of prescription drug information, is collected from physicians by companies such as IMS Health and Verispan and then sold to pharmaceutical marketers to aid in marketing strategies.

According to iHealthbeat, opponents of data mining believe the practice, "drive[s] up healthcare costs by steering physicians to prescribe more expensive brand name medications."

In a statement released by IMS on Friday, the company responded to the new bill: "Without [data mining], it is much more difficult to communicate with physicians about best treatment practices, new treatment guidelines and updated safety warnings for medicines." Amidst news of this new bill, shares of IMS Health fell 6.41% Friday afternoon, The Wall Street Journal reports.

According to The Associated Press, a  bill in the House of Representatives has already been passed regarding pharmaceutical data mining, but does not restrict the use of such a practice.  Instead, the bill aims to the study the practice, not eliminate it.