[It seems to me that the invasion of privacy claim is weak: I fail to see a real difference between receiving a Prozac pill in the mail vs. a tailored ad beginning "Dear former Prozac user..." The real claim, to the extent there is one, seems to be dispensing drugs near-randomly. --Declan] --- Date: Sun, 7 Jul 2002 11:56:44 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <montyat_private> Subject: Free Prozac in the Junk Mail Draws a Lawsuit July 6, 2002 Free Prozac in the Junk Mail Draws a Lawsuit By ADAM LIPTAK FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 3 - The unsolicited Prozac arrived in a hand-addressed manila envelope. It came from a Walgreens drugstore not far from here, and there was a "Dear Patient" form letter inside. "Enclosed you will find a free one month trial of Prozac Weekly," it said. "Congratulations on being one step to full recovery." The mailing infuriated one recipient, a 59-year-old home caregiver who filed a class-action lawsuit this week in state court here. "They're going after me because I have a problem," said the caregiver, who agreed to an interview in her lawyer's office here on the condition that her name be withheld. "It bothers me to think that somebody could get into my medical records and start sending me dangerous medications." The suit says Walgreens, a local hospital, three doctors and Eli Lilly, which makes Prozac, misused patients' medical records and invaded their privacy. It also accused the drugstore and Lilly of engaging in the unauthorized practice of medicine. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/06/national/06PROZ.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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