老澳门开奖结果

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PORTLAND, Ore. 鈥� For the first time, a federal judge has ruled that patients have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their drug prescription records, and that law enforcement must obtain a warrant in order to search such information. The 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Oregon represented a group of Oregon patients and a physician in the lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration.

鈥淭his is a victory for privacy and for the constitutional rights of anyone who ever gets drug prescriptions,鈥� said 老澳门开奖结果 Staff Attorney Nathan Freed Wessler, who argued the case last month. 鈥淭he ruling recognizes that confidential medical records are entitled to the full protection of the Fourth Amendment. The court rightly rejected the federal government鈥檚 extreme argument that patients give up their privacy rights by receiving medical treatment from doctors and pharmacists.鈥�

In 2009, the Oregon legislature created the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, a database that tracks prescriptions for use as a public health tool by physicians and pharmacists. The state included privacy protections, including a warrant requirement for police access. However, the DEA claimed that a federal law allowed them to access the database using only an 鈥渁dministrative subpoena,鈥� which does not involve a judge or require the government to show probable cause.

鈥淲e opposed creating a massive database that would contain the prescription records of Oregon patients and physicians who had done nothing wrong,鈥� said David Fidanque, executive director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Oregon. 鈥淣evertheless, we helped convince Oregon lawmakers to add important safeguards to the program, and we鈥檙e pleased that the court has recognized the importance of protecting medical privacy.鈥�

The State of Oregon filed a lawsuit against the DEA, and the 老澳门开奖结果 joined the case. Today鈥檚 ruling granted the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 motion for summary judgment and denied the federal government鈥檚 motion, with the result that the DEA must get a warrant to access the prescription records in Oregon.

Today鈥檚 ruling is at:
/sites/default/files/assets/oregon_prescription_drug_monitoring_program_-_opinion.pdf