Wednesday, April 18, 2007

This will go on your permanent record

Did you know that the Federal Government keeps databases on everybody's drug prescriptions? I didn't. The Virgina Tech shootings brought out this fact, according to Glenn Greenwald who quotes ABC news:
Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search.
So, it turns out that despite the tradition of doctor-patient confidentiality, your entire drug history is recorded and available to any agent of government who is curious about you. And who knows who else can access this data?

You are entitled to see what data credit agencies have collected on you. There needs to be a similar law for government dossiers.

And apparently it's a good idea to avoid taking any prescription drug unless you want the world to know you're taking it.

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