No patient prescription drug information may be transferred or received by a person without the written consent of the patient or a person authorized by law to act on behalf of the patient. However, this prohibition does not apply to:
(1) the lawful transmission of a prescription drug order in accordance with all state and federal laws pertaining to the practice of pharmacy.
(2) communications among licensed practitioners, licensed pharmacists, and other health care professionals who provide or have provided medical or therapeutic treatment, pharmacy service, or medical or therapeutic consultation service for the person who received the drug or device;
(3) information gained as a result of a person requesting informational material from a prescription drug or device manufacturer or vendor;
(4) information necessary to effect the recall of a defective drug or device or other information necessary to protect the health and welfare of an individual or the public generally;
(5) information whereby the release or transfer is mandated by other state or federal laws, court order, or subpoena, or regulations including, but not limited to, accreditation or licensure requirements;
(6) information necessary to adjudicate or process payment claims for health care, whether under a health insurance benefits program or other payment system, if the recipient makes no other use or further disclosure of the information;
(7) information voluntarily disclosed by a patient to entities outside of the provider-patient relationship;
(8) information used in clinical research monitored by an institutional review board;
(9) information which does not identify patients by name, or that is encoded in a manner that information identifying a particular patient by name or address is not generally obtainable, and that is used for epidemiological studies, research, statistical analysis, medical outcomes, or pharmacoeconomic research;
(10) information transferred in connection with the sale of a business or medical practice to a successor in interest;
(11) information necessary to disclose to third parties in order to perform quality assurance programs, medical records review, internal audits, medical records maintenance, or similar programs, if the third party makes no other use or further disclosure of the information;
(12) information that may be revealed to a party who, on behalf of the patient, obtains a dispensed prescription from a pharmacy;
(13) information necessary to disclose to third parties in order for a health plan licensed by the South Carolina Department of Insurance to perform case management, utilization management, and disease management for individuals enrolled in that health plan, if the third party makes no other use or further disclosure of the information.
HISTORY: 1999 Act No. 85, Section 1.