The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, MA, has upheld a Maine law making doctors' prescription-writing habits confidential, reports the Associated Press. Three companies that provide medical data to pharmaceutical marketers filed the suit challenging the constitutionality of the law. "The plaintiffs suggested that this law chills their commercial free speech," said Maine Attorney General Janet Mills. "All our law does is protect the privacy of doctors who prescribe medications." A similar law in New Hampshire was upheld in courts last year, and a comparable law in Vermont is in front of the Second U.S. Court of Appeals with a ruling expected in a matter of days.
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