Lawsuit Claims Facebook Is Gaining Access To Some Patients’ Health Data

Bloomberg: Meta Sued Over Claims Patient Data Secretly Sent to Facebook
Meta Platforms Inc. was sued over claims that private medical data is being shared secretly with Facebook when patients access web portals for some health-care providers. Facebook’s Pixel tracking tool redirects patient communications and other supposedly “secure” information without authorization and in violation of federal and state laws, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in San Francisco federal court as a proposed class action on behalf of millions of patients. (Peng, 6/17)

The Markup: Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information From Hospital Websites
A tracking tool installed on many hospitals’ websites has been collecting patients’ sensitive health information — including details about their medical conditions, prescriptions, and doctor’s appointments — and sending it to Facebook. The Markup tested the websites of Newsweek’s top 100 hospitals in America. On 33 of them we found the tracker, called the Meta Pixel, sending Facebook a packet of data whenever a person clicked a button to schedule a doctor’s appointment. The data is connected to an IP address — an identifier that’s like a computer’s mailing address and can generally be linked to a specific individual or household — creating an intimate receipt of the appointment request for Facebook. (Feathers, Fondrie-Teitler, Waller and Mattu, 6/16)

Modern Healthcare: Digital Health Companies Hit With Securities Fraud Suits
Shareholders have hit digital health companies with a spate of securities fraud lawsuits this year as once high-flying companies see share prices drop, and more could be on the horizon. It's common to see a rise in such complaints, across industries, when the stock market is down. But healthcare and life sciences companies may be more susceptible to litigation. "In the life sciences and healthcare areas, you have a lot of companies whose stock prices are volatile," said Jason Vigna, a litigator at law firm Mintz, who's defended companies in shareholder disputes. "Because of that, unfortunately, they get hit by these cases a little bit more." (Kim Cohen, 6/20)

On medical debt —

KHN: Medical Bills Can Shatter Lives. North Carolina May Act To ‘De-Weaponize’ That Debt
When Erin Williams-Reavis faced a $3,500 surgery bill, the hospital offered to let her pay in $300 monthly installments. It was too much, said Williams-Reavis, 44, who lives in Greensboro, about an hour west of the state capital. Her hours as a personal assistant had been cut, and she and her husband were behind on bills, even requesting a forbearance on their mortgage. In Charlotte, Patrick Oliver was stunned to receive a nearly $30,000 bill after a trip to the emergency room for numbness and burning in his hands and feet. When Oliver, 66, and his wife, Mary, couldn’t pay, the hospital sued them. The couple feared they’d lose their home. (Pattani, 6/21)

KHN: Journalists Dig Deep On Medical Debt And The Boundaries Of AI In Health Care 
KHN senior correspondent Noam N. Levey discussed America’s medical debt crisis on NPR’s “Morning Edition” on June 16. ... KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal discussed whether the government is equipped to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in health care on WBUR’s “On Point” on June 10. (6/18)

KHN: Watch: Still Paying Off Bills From Twins’ Birth. The Kids Are 10 Now
Marcus and Allyson Ward carefully planned their finances before having children — but they owed $80,000 after their twins were born prematurely. Years later, after exhausting savings and retirement accounts, they are still paying off that debt. The family is among 100 million people in America systematically pushed into medical debt, according to an investigation by KHN and NPR. CBS consumer investigative correspondent Anna Werner interviewed the Wards for “CBS Mornings.” (6/17)