No warrant, no problem: Top U.S. drugstore chains allow staff to hand over patient files to police right in the stores

A U.S. congressional investigation has discovered that the country’s largest pharmacy chains allow their employees to hand over patients’ prescription records to police and government investigators without a warrant.The investigation, which was triggered by a 2022 Supreme Court decision that ended the constitutional right to abortion, found that while some of companies require their lawyers to review law enforcement requests, the three largest chains—namely CVS Health, Kroger and Rite Aid—let pharmacy staff members release patients’ medical records in the store.According to a Washington Post report, the findings of the congressional report could shape the debate over Americans’ expectations of privacy, particularly as Texas and other states move to criminalize abortion and the use of other drugs related to reproductive health.Read: How does he know I’m on methadone? Door-to-door marketer was pharmacy owner who peeked at competitors’ patient filesBeyond concerns about pharmacies handing over patient information to law enforcement, there are also issues around chains sharing patients’ records across all locations. This means a pharmacy in one state can access a person’s medical history from another state, leaving a digital trail that could link a patient’s out-of-state medical care back to their home state.“Americans deserve to have their private medical information protected at the pharmacy counter,” the congressional investigators wrote in a letter to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.The letter urged the department to strengthen rules under the country’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and to ensure pharmacies insist on a warrant, which need to be requested from a court. A similar requirement has been in place since around 2010 in the tech industry.Read: Tips on providing medication abortionWhile HIPAA outlines what and how information can be shared by and between “covered” entities such as hospitals and doctors’ offices, the rules are less specific when applied to pharmacies.In briefings, officials with Walgreens Boots Alliance, CVS, Walmart, Rite Aid, Kroger, Cigna, Optum Rx and Amazon Pharmacy told congressional investigators that they required only a subpoena, not a warrant, to share patients’ records. CVS, Kroger and Rite Aid also said they instruct their pharmacy staff members to process law enforcement requests on the spot, saying the staff members face “extreme pressure to immediately respond.” Only one of the companies, Amazon, said it notified customers when law enforcement demanded their pharmacy records unless there was a legal prohibition such as a “gag order.”Read: Kansas can’t enforce new law on abortion pills or make patients wait 24 hours, judge rules

No warrant, no problem: Top U.S. drugstore chains allow staff to hand over patient files to police right in the stores

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