Microsoft and software company Qualtrics are facing a patient-led lawsuit that alleges that the company's online analytics technologies violates health privacy protection laws, according to a May 15 lawsuit obtained by Becker's.
The lawsuit, filed by a Kaiser Permanente patient in Washington federal court, alleges that the companies' tracking technology, which can be embedded on health system websites, collected sensitive information from Kaiser's website.
The allegations come shortly after a California patient filed a lawsuit May 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser.
The patient alleged that the health system uses these tracking tools to let tech companies "intercept" private patient data for advertising purposes.
The health system told Becker's that it has not been served with the lawsuit and will "defend this case vigorously."