State College, Pa.-based Mount Nittany Health has agreed to pay $1.8 million in a proposed settlement following a lawsuit alleging the health system used tracking software to share private patient information with tech companies for marketing purposes, WJAC reported Dec. 3.
The lawsuit claims that Mount Nittany Health violated privacy laws by disclosing sensitive data without patient consent, although the health system denies any wrongdoing.
The settlement, which still requires court approval, would provide compensation to nearly 74,000 individuals — former patients and users of Mount Nittany's website — who may have been affected by the breach.
This case is part of a broader trend, with several healthcare organizations nationwide facing similar lawsuits over the use of tracking software and the sharing of private data.