Major health systems Sutter and Redeemer, and telehealth app Lemonaid, settle lawsuits for allegedly sharing patient data via tracking pixels

 

Sutter Health, Redeemer Health, and the telehealth platform Lemonaid Health have agreed to substantial settlements to resolve class-action lawsuits concerning the use of tracking technologies on their websites. The plaintiffs alleged that the use of third-party tracking pixels, such as those from Meta and Google, resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive patient data and browsing habits, effectively violating HIPAA privacy standards and state confidentiality laws. These settlements mark a significant development in the ongoing legal scrutiny surrounding "surveillance capitalism" tools embedded within patient portals and appointment scheduling pages.

For legal and compliance teams in the healthcare sector, these cases serve as a stark warning regarding the integration of marketing technology with clinical platforms. The core issue revolves around the inadvertent transmission of PHI to tech giants without a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in place. As part of the remediation, these organizations are not only paying damages but are also forced to overhaul their digital privacy governance. This trend suggests that healthcare entities must rigorously audit their web properties for third-party scripts to avoid costly litigation and regulatory penalties from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Read the original article at: https://www.hipaajournal.com/sutter-health-lemonaid-health-redeemer-health-pixel-data-breach-settlements/


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