Pharmacies Provide Prescription Records to Law Enforcement Without Warrants

Congressional inquiry calls for stronger HIPAA protections, as major pharmacy chains commit to transparency reports.

A congressional inquiry led by Democrats has found that seven major pharmacy chains and Amazon Pharmacy have been providing patient prescription records to law enforcement without warrants.
The pharmacy chains include CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cigna, Optum Rx, Walmart Stores, Inc., The Kroger Company and Rite Aid Corporation. Amazon Pharmacy was the only one that said it had a policy of informing customers when their records were requested.
Three of the pharmacy chains — CVS Health, The Kroger Co. and Rite Aid Corp — said they allowed their staff to handle records requests in-store without a legal professional reviewing them.
Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Sara Jacobs (Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have called on the Department of Health and Human Services to update HIPAA policy so that it reflects “Americans’ reasonable expectations of privacy and Constitutional principles.”
Around the time of this inquiry, CVS, Walgreens and Kroger committed to publishing annual transparency reports on law enforcement requests for patient records. CVS’s first report will be published in the first quarter of 2024.