A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld New Hampshire’s law that restricts drug companies access to some information about doctor’s prescription drug data that is widely used in pharmaceutical marketing. The law prohibits pharmacies, benefits managers, insurance companies and data-mimic companies from selling prescription information that identifies doctors for commercial purposes, including influencing sales.

The court upheld the right of states to prohibit the sale of this information that is used in drug marketing. New Hampshire’s law is the first of this kind in the nation. The law that shields doctors’ prescription records from drug companies does not violate the Constitution, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

The so-called data-mining companies that collect, analyze and sell medical data said the law violated their free speech right. Drug companies’ sales representatives use the data to identify doctors’ drug preferences and whether they favour some medicines over others. These companies were disappointed with the decision and were evaluating their potential next steps. The data-miming companies argue that the prescription data has led to advances in medical research and better public information about drug warnings.

On the other hand, Gov. John Lynch sustained the ruling.

“This law helps protect the privacy of doctor-patient relationships and helps stabilize health-care costs. Here in New Hampshire, we continue to work to improve our health-care system and this law is an important part of those efforts,” Gov. John Lynch said in a statement.

The law was intended to combat the threat of cost-effective delivery of health care and to protect the health and safety of patients.