Lawmaker To Reintroduce Legislation Prohibiting Drug Marketing by Pharmacies
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) announced yesterday that he intends to reintroduce legislation that would prohibit pharmacies from marketing drugs to customers on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, the Orlando Sentinel reports. According to Nelson, the measure would "plug a gap" in the medical privacy rule finalized in August by the Bush administration. The original draft of the medical privacy rule, proposed by the Clinton administration, prohibited drug companies from paying pharmacies to advertise their products, but the final rule left out that provision. Nelson introduced a similar proposal last year, but it failed to garner support in Congress (Groeller, Orlando Sentinel, 9/2).
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