Your impressions are correct: the CMA remains very concerned about the sale of physician prescribing data. This issue is addressed in a separate policy statement on the sale and use of individual physicians' prescribing data,1 which was approved by the CMA Board of Directors in February 1997. The CMA continues to explore a range of options for addressing the sale of physician-specific information without consent.
Claude A. Renaud Associate Secretary General and Chief Medical Officer Canadian Medical Association Ottawa, Ont.
Reference
- 1.Statement of principles: the sale and use of data on individual physicians' prescribing. Ottawa: Canadian Medical Association; 1997. CMAJ 1997; 156 (3):424A-D. Available: www.cma.ca/cma/common/displayPage.do?pageId=/staticContent/HTML/N0/l2/where_we_stand/1997/2-1.htm (accessed 2002 Oct 8). [PubMed]