March 28, 2024
Letter

Support LD 4

I read with interest the recent OpEd piece by Tarren Bragdon regarding LD 4, “A bad pill for health care in Maine” (BDN, Nov. 30), which would limit the access pharmaceutical companies have to physician prescribing data. As a strong supporter of this legislation, I feel that Mr. Bragdon has either misunderstood or misrepresented the intent and effect of the new law.

LD 4 would apply only to attempts by drug companies to use the prescribing information to market new, often very expensive medications. When a pharmaceutical company knows which medications I prescribe, it can more effectively target me with sales pitches for its competing products. Using private health care information to market medications violates the physician-patient relationship, and leads to higher costs by encouraging the use of new medications when older and less expensive ones would work as well or better.

Mr. Bragdon states this law would prevent physicians from learning about new and potentially lifesaving advances in medical care, and cites the care his friend is receiving for cancer. It is imperative that Maine people know this legislation applies only to the use of prescription data for marketing purposes. All other uses for legitimate medical ends would remain unaffected. The information that comes from pharmaceutical companies is often biased in favor of the products being marketed and serves as a poor basis for medical decision-making. In addition, the vast majority of providers who treat such life-threatening diseases as cancer are in regular contact with colleagues who supply them with information regarding up-to-date treatments, and LD 4 would have no effect on these far more reliable sources of information.

LD 4 is a good law that will protect the integrity of the physician-patient relationship, lower health care costs, and support good medical decision-making. We should all hope that it goes into effect.

Daniel Summers, M.D.

Hallowell


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