Digital Health & Technology

  • December 20, 2024

    Top Privacy & Cybersecurity Developments Of 2024

    The state data privacy law patchwork continued to add new and varied pieces in 2024, while major hacks shook up the healthcare industry and other critical sectors, and the first U.S. laws setting guardrails for the use of artificial intelligence technologies emerged.

  • December 19, 2024

    Google Health Tracking Plaintiffs Fight To Keep Suit Alive

    A California federal judge who was asked by Google to toss a proposed class action alleging that the tech giant illicitly scoops up users' personal data from healthcare providers' websites indicated during a Thursday hearing that he might grant the request while adding that he still has "a lot more thinking to do."

  • December 17, 2024

    UNC Doctor Can't Shield Minor Transgender Patients' Records

    A University of North Carolina doctor cannot assert privilege over medical records sought from the university by state Republicans fighting a suit by the physician and others seeking to enjoin a law imposing limits on transgender care for minors, a federal magistrate judge has ruled.

  • December 17, 2024

    Stanford Profs Say Roche's Trade Secret Claims Time-Barred

    Stanford University's trustees and three of its professors have asked a California federal court to dismiss trade secret theft claims bought by subsidiaries of F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, arguing that the allegations are time-barred because the companies were on notice of the purported misappropriation for over three years before filing suit.

  • December 17, 2024

    New Fed Health Data Rules: What You Need To Know

    The Biden administration this week established long-awaited regulations codifying how medical providers and vendors must share electronic health information. New provisions were included to thwart criminal investigations into reproductive healthcare.

  • December 17, 2024

    FDA Sharpens Focus On Celebrity Drug Endorsements

    Ads featuring celebrities such as tennis star Serena Williams and interior designer Nate Berkus surfaced in FDA enforcement letters this year. The agency has ramped up its scrutiny of influencer drug promotion.

  • December 11, 2024

    Ga. Judge Refuses To Reconsider Toss Of Patient Data Suit

    A Georgia federal judge has refused to reconsider the dismissal of a proposed class action alleging Piedmont Healthcare Inc. unlawfully shared patients' health data with Facebook via the company's tracking pixel tool.

  • December 10, 2024

    UpHealth Says Glocal Execs Stalling On $115M Award Suit

    Digital health services company UpHealth has asked an Illinois federal judge to favor its efforts to pin down assets belonging to executives of Indian healthcare firm Glocal as it looks to enforce a $115 million arbitral award, saying the respondents are engaging in "obstructionist" conduct.

  • December 06, 2024

    Google Must Face Trimmed BIPA Suit Over IBM Dataset

    A California federal judge on Thursday permitted Illinois residents to proceed with a pared-down version of their proposed class action accusing Google of violating biometric privacy laws with facial data collected by IBM, ruling they've adequately alleged a violation of the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act.

  • December 06, 2024

    NC Hospital Gets Initial OK For $1.1M Data Breach Deal

    A North Carolina Business Court judge has given his initial seal of approval to a $1.1 million settlement agreement in a data breach class action against Columbus Regional Healthcare System.

  • December 06, 2024

    Colo. Children's Hospital Fined $548K For Phishing Attacks

    Children's Hospital Colorado was hit with a more than $548,000 fine over phishing and cyberattacks that violated patient privacy rules, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • December 05, 2024

    Pain Management Clinic Fined $1.19 Million for HIPAA Breach

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has fined a Florida pain management clinic $1.19 million for alleged HIPAA violations involving a former contractor that impermissibly accessed the clinic's electronic record system.

  • December 05, 2024

    IQVIA Gets Final OK For $3.5M Deal In Ex-Workers' 401(k) Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge on Thursday gave his final seal of approval to a $3.5 million settlement for a class of 9,000 employees who accused healthcare technology company IQVIA of mismanaging its $1.13 billion 401(k) plan.

  • December 04, 2024

    Colo. Judge Tosses Data Breach Suit Against Hospital Chain

    A Colorado federal judge has dismissed a proposed data breach class action against hospital operator CommonSpirit Health, accepting a recommendation that found the lead plaintiff failed to allege any real injuries and therefore had no standing.

  • November 27, 2024

    Deloitte Posed As Consultant To Steal Vax Software, Suit Says

    An inventor has accused Deloitte Consulting LLP in New York federal court of stealing her proprietary vaccination management system and securing a multimillion-dollar government contract for rolling out COVID-19 vaccines, saying the firm colluded with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to pilfer the technology.

  • November 27, 2024

    X Corp Says Gov't Trying To 'Muzzle' Doc In Bitter HIPAA Case

    X Corp has told a Texas federal judge that government prosecutors were trying to "muzzle" a doctor accused of sharing protected patient information while talking to the press about a hospital's gender-affirming care practices, saying the government was out of line.

  • November 26, 2024

    Truepill's $7.5M Patent Data Theft Settlement Gets Initial OK

    A California federal judge Tuesday preliminarily backed a $7.5 million deal resolving a proposed class action alleging that online pharmacy PostMeds Inc., which does business as Truepill, failed to protect the sensitive information of millions of patients from a data breach.

  • November 19, 2024

    Judge Rejects Infosys' Bid To Seal NDAs In Trade Secrets Row

    A Texas federal judge shot down Indian tech company Infosys Ltd.'s efforts to seal nondisclosure agreements involved in a trade secrets case over healthcare software, ruling that there was "nothing commercially sensitive" about them.

  • November 19, 2024

    Congress' Dash For Telehealth Extensions: 4 Things To Know

    With Republicans set to take control of Congress and the White House, lame-duck lawmakers on Capitol Hill are in a mad dash to pass legislation ahead of the new year. Many are turning an eye toward making permanent the telehealth extensions that became available during the pandemic.

  • November 18, 2024

    'Sub-Par' Work By Data Breach Class Attys Earns Lower Fee

    A Connecticut federal judge awarded $340,000 on Monday to class counsel in a data breach lawsuit against Merritt Healthcare Advisors but criticized their request for $381,250 as out of line with reasonable rates and said some of their work in the case was "sub-par."

  • November 18, 2024

    Healthcare Atty Leaves GC Role To Lead Legal At GeneDx

    Connecticut-based genetic testing company GeneDx announced Monday that an experienced in-house healthcare attorney who most recently worked as general counsel at Zoetis was named its chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

  • November 15, 2024

    Orrick Trial Partner Joins Morgan Lewis In Boston

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP announced that an experienced litigator from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP joined the firm's Boston office as a partner, enhancing its capacity in areas such as life sciences and regulatory compliance.

  • November 12, 2024

    Thompson Coburn Hit With Suit Over Healthcare Data Breach

    Thompson Coburn LLP was hit with a proposed class action Tuesday in Missouri federal court alleging the firm did not do enough to safeguard data provided to a healthcare provider client, resulting in a data breach that compromised individuals' personal information.

  • November 12, 2024

    Ex-Oak Street Health CLO Joins Included Health

    California-based Included Health, which calls itself an "all-in-one" healthcare solution, announced Tuesday that it has snagged the former legal head at Oak Street Health as its new chief legal officer.

  • November 08, 2024

    Apple Didn't Hire Cercacor CTO To Steal Watch IP, Ex-VP Says

    A retired Apple executive defended the tech giant Friday in Masimo's trade secret suit over pulse oximetry technology, testifying in California federal court that Apple didn't hire a Masimo spinoff's chief technology office in order to obtain confidential information for the Apple Watch and never received any such information.

Expert Analysis

  • SEC Cybersecurity Rule Presents Burden For Health Care Cos.

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    A new rule from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission aims to increase cybersecurity resiliency, but may only force regulated entities — particularly those in the health care space — to face a far more complicated environment with increased strategic and litigation risks, say Bess Hinson and Angad Chopra at Holland & Knight.

  • Comparing US And EU Approaches To Health AI Regulation

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    Victoria Larson and Julia Cotney at Verrill Dana compare current U.S. and EU regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence and machine learning in the healthcare industry and highlight key principles that providers and developers should be aware of.

  • Why Privacy And Trade Secret Law Are On A Collision Course

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    The conflict between the legal regimes of trade secret law and data privacy law is growing as companies increasingly collect and use data about their customers, making it key for organizations to find ways to comply with both laws in order to protect their intellectual property and the privacy of their customer, says Jenny Colgate at Rothwell Figg.

  • Negotiating AI-Life Sciences Partnerships To Minimize IP Risk

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    When life sciences companies and AI companies form partnerships to foster innovation, the parties should align interests as well as mitigate intellectual property risks by strategically identifying and addressing the unique AI-related legal issues, such as training data, AI model and output, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Parsing Through The FTC's Proposed Health Privacy Updates

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recently proposed updates to its Health Breach Notification Rule contain subtle but significant changes to key terms that help modernize the agency's health app regulation and provide stakeholders an important opportunity to help shape the future of virtual health care, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts

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    The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Compliance Takeaways From HHS Information Blocking Rule

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    A recently finalized rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General demonstrates a renewed focus on investigating practices that may interfere with patients' access to their electronic health information, and should encourage renewed compliance efforts across a range of processes, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Life Sci Cos. Should Work With FDA To Shape AI Regulation

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    Due to the rapidly evolving nature of potentially long-term regulatory paradigms for artificial intelligence, drug and biologic manufacturers looking to leverage AI should engage strategically with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure clarity surrounding compliance obligations, say Lowell Zeta and Blake Wilson at Hogan Lovells.

  • BIPA, Meta Pixel Suits Could Reshape Cybersecurity Litigation

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    Businesses and attorneys should watch several pending electronic privacy cases that revolve around disclosure of protected personal information and health data, which may shape how courts handle damages and class actions in the future of cybersecurity litigation, say Kelly Johnson and Melanie Condon at Goldberg Segalla.

  • The Double-Edged Sword Of Using ChatGPT In Health Care

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    While ChatGPT has shown promising potential in health care, one of the key challenges for players in this space is balancing patient privacy and data protection with the benefits of utilizing this technology, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Addressing Legal Issues Raised By AI Use In Health Care

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With the usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning in health care likely to be governed by a patchwork of state laws for the near future, industry actors should build flexibility into products to meet evolving regulatory concerns, including monetization of patient data and professional licensing questions, say Sara Shanti and Phil Kim at Sheppard Mullin.

  • New Health Data Compliance Considerations For Pa. Lawyers

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    Given the regularity with which attorneys handle private health information, it is important for Pennsylvania firms to understand recent significant amendments to the state's data breach law, which address information not currently covered by federal law, says Mark Mattioli at Post & Schell.

  • Mitigating Risks Of Developing Drugs And Devices With AI

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    As the use of artificial intelligence in drug and medical device development advances, companies should implement five key steps to identify and mitigate areas of potential risk before regulatory frameworks catch up, say attorneys at King & Spalding.