Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health has agreed to pay $6.6 million for using an advertising tool called a tracking pixel that shared personal information with technology companies, WRAL reported Jan. 10.
According to the publication, the lawsuit alleged that the pixel was installed on the health system's MyChart portal and gathered information on user interactions for marketing objectives, breaching HIPAA standards.
Individuals who accessed the portal or Novant's website from May 1, 2020, to Aug. 12, 2022, could qualify as potential class members.
After the settlement, Novant said in a statement: "Novant Health takes privacy and the care of personal information very seriously and values patient trust to keep patients' medical information private. Novant Health will continue to be as transparent as possible and provide information to patients. The proposed settlement is not admission of wrongdoing, and the court did not find any wrongdoing on the part of Novant Health."
Other health systems such as New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Downers Grove, Ill., and Milwaukee-based Advocate Aurora Health, and Milwaukee-based Froedtert Health have also reached settlements regarding pixel tracking technology.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital paid $300,000, Advocate Aurora Health paid $12.25 million and Froedtert Health paid $2 million. None of the proposed settlements indicated any wrongdoing.