FTC and HHS sent a joint letter to approximately 130 hospital systems and telehealth providers to alert them of the privacy and security risks of using online tracking technologies within their websites or mobile apps.
The letter specified risks posed by the Meta pixel and Google Analytics technologies, such as unauthorized disclosure of health conditions, diagnoses, medications, medical treatments, frequency of visits to healthcare professionals and where a patient seeks medical treatment, according to a July 20 FTC news release.
However, the warning did not come soon enough for numerous healthcare systems. At least 21 hospitals, health systems and technology companies have faced lawsuits over the past year for allegedly sharing confidential patient information with social media giants such as Meta, Facebook, Instagram and Google.
The use of tracking technology within healthcare systems is not a recent phenomenon, as 99 percent of hospitals in 2021 used web trackers, according to a study published in April.
Together, these HIPAA violation lawsuits allege the private medical information of millions of Americans has been illegally shared, according to a May 4 report from law.com.
Here is a list of hospitals, health systems and health apps across the U.S. that have faced lawsuits for allegedly sharing healthcare data for marketing purposes in the last year:
Betterhelp, an online therapy service, paid $7.8 million to consumers in a settlement filed by the Federal Trade Commission for revealing patient data with Facebook and Snapchat for advertising.
GoodRx, a telemedical service and prescription price comparison platform, paid $1.5 million in a settlement filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission for failing to notify users of disclosing personal health information to Facebook, Google and other companies.
Premom, an app that tracks fertility, was accused by the Federal Trade Commission of sharing personal information with third parties and sensitive health data to AppsFlyer and Google.
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics faced a lawsuit accusing them of installing a pixel tracking technology on its websites to share patient data with Facebook.
Excela Health, based in Greensburg, Pa., faced a lawsuit alleging the use of tracking technology on its web portal to disclose patients' protected health information to Facebook and Google.
Mount Nittany Health, based in State College, Pa., faced a lawsuit claiming the use of pixels on its website to send patient information to Facebook and Google.
Steward Health Care System, based in Dallas, faced a lawsuit for the alleged use of a Meta pixel tracking tool within its website that sent patient information to Meta and Google.
Orlando Health faced a lawsuit from a patient for allegedly using pixel tracking technology on its website to send patient information to Facebook.
UofL Health, based in Louisville, Ky., faced a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging the use of the Meta pixel consumer-tracking tool to transfer private health data to Meta platforms.
LCMC Health, based in New Orleans, and Willis-Knighton Health System, based in Shreveport, La., faced a class-action lawsuit accusing them of using a tracking code in their websites to share sensitive data without patient knowledge or consent.
The Christ Hospital, based in Cincinnati, faced a lawsuit for allegedly using pixel codes on their website to send patient information to Meta and other third parties.
Cedars-Sinai, based in Los Angeles, faced a lawsuit alleging the sharing of patient data with Meta, Google and Microsoft.
Rush University System for Health, based in Chicago, faced a lawsuit in federal court claiming the transmission of patient data to tech companies.
UPMC, based in Pittsburgh, entered into arbitration after a lawsuit alleged the sharing of patient data with Facebook.
University of Chicago Medical Center faced a lawsuit in federal court for allegedly using pixel tracking technology to share patient information with Facebook.
Advocate Aurora Health, dually headquartered in Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee, and Meta faced a lawsuit from a patient over their use of pixel tracking technology to allegedly share protected health information.
WakeMed, based in Raleigh, N.C., faced a lawsuit from a patient alleging the use of pixel tracking technology on its website and patient portal that sent patient data to Facebook.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, based in Chicago, faced a lawsuit alleging the hospital shared sensitive patient health data with Meta, Facebook and Instagram.
UCSF Medical Center and Dignity Health, both based in San Francisco, were named in a class-action lawsuit alleging the sharing of patients' medical data used to target Facebook ads.