WebMD, Quintiles End Data Dispute
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Quintiles Transnational and WebMD are ending their legal battle over electronic health data.
WebMD, citing patient privacy concerns, in February reduced the amount and type of data it sent to Quintiles, which repackages the data from medical and pharmacy claims for sale to drug companies.
Durham-based Quintiles insisted that WebMD, based in Elmwood Park, N.J., is obligated to send the data under a deal made last year.
At a hearing Thursday in Greenville, WebMD told Chief U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle that the parties had reached an agreement to settle the dispute.
WebMD lawyer Richard Ellis said the company's concerns over whether it was violating state privacy laws were allayed when Quintiles agreed to make patient information more anonymous, such as obscuring parts of individuals' zip codes and birthdates.
The hearing did not settle whether Quintiles would still seek damages against WebMD. But John Russell, Quintiles' general counsel, said the company was pleased with the outcome.
Quintiles, the world's largest provider of services to the pharmaceutical industry, packages WebMD's data about prescription, physician and hospital claims into information that customers such as drug companies can use to analyze trends in medical care.
Quintiles sold a subsidiary, the No. 1 processor of health-care claims, to WebMD last year. As part of that deal, Quintiles retained access to the data. |
