Doctor slams govt for using PBS data to ID patients with bipolar disorder
Human services department admits it trawled through records to invite patients for a drug study
Government officials have admitted trawling through PBS records to identify the names and addresses of thousands of patients prescribed lithium carbonate so they could be recruited for a study on the drug.
After coming up with a list of 50,000 patients, the Department of Human Services says it then sent letters, asking the patients if they wanted to sign up to the study led by the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane.
