GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to § 6 of Article V of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1101. Subsequent to the Reconvened Session, I have been provided with additional information that dictates this course of action.

House Bill 1101, as introduced, was an effort to address the need to protect the privacy of patient prescription drug records. Recently, there has been an increase in the release of patient identifying information to third party interests at the expense of a patient's privacy.

The original bill sought to amend the Virginia Drug Control Act, Va. Code § 54.1-3400 et seq., to prohibit a pharmacist or pharmacy from releasing patient-identifying prescription information without specific permission of the patient. Additionally, the Board of Pharmacy was granted authority to enforce limitations on the dissemination of those records through adoption of regulations.

Unfortunately, amendments were added to provide the privacy protections within the framework of Va. Code § 32.1-127.1:03, which relates to the privacy of patient health records. The broad exceptions to the application of Va. Code § 32.1-127.1:03, and the deletion of the authority for the Board of Pharmacy to enforce these provisions, resulted in decreased protection for the privacy of patient prescription records. Further, during the course of the consideration of the bill, language was added to alter the standard on which health care providers rely when in their judgment the release to the patient of the information contained in the medical records would be potentially harmful to the patient. Additionally, the amended language in part conflicted with language in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act [see Va. Code § 2.1-342 (B) (3)].

I strongly support the privacy of patient medical and health records. However, House Bill 1101 does not accomplish the laudable purpose for which the bill was originally introduced. I believe now the better course of action is to veto the bill to permit these additional issues to be more fully debated at a future session of the General Assembly.

Accordingly, I disapprove of this bill.