Digital Health & Technology

  • April 16, 2025

    Blue Shield Of California Sued Over Google's Patient Data Use

    Blue Shield of California was slapped with a putative class action in California state court Monday, days after the health insurer announced that the personal data of some of its patients had been "impermissibly" shared due to its use of Google Analytics on its websites.

  • April 15, 2025

    Pharma Tech Firm Hit With Class Claims Over Data Breach

    Pharmacy technology company CPS Solutions LLC allegedly failed to implement "basic data security practices" like encrypting patient information before a cybercriminal got into its email system in December, according to a new proposed class action filed in Ohio federal court.

  • April 15, 2025

    Former In-House Health Atty Joins Pierson Ferdinand

    Ben Hefflinger, a new healthcare partner at Pierson Ferdinand, talks to Law360 about the move from an in-house role to private practice at an "awesome intersection" for digital health.

  • April 15, 2025

    Will Trump Admin. 'Wash Its Hands' Of FDA Lab-Test Rule?

    A federal court decision that laboratory-developed tests fall outside the FDA's oversight puts the Trump administration at a juncture where it will have to decide how — or whether — to argue for expanded agency authority. Many expect Trump officials to take a pass.

  • April 14, 2025

    Juul Seeks Ax of Noncompliant Plaintiffs In E-Cig Suits

    Juul on Monday asked a California federal judge to toss claims brought by plaintiffs who failed to comply with court orders, about two years after Juul reached a $255 million global settlement in the litigation.

  • April 14, 2025

    Women's Healthtech Co. Chiaro Files Ch. 15 In Delaware

    British women's healthtech company Chiaro Technology Ltd. has filed for Chapter 15 recognition in Delaware bankruptcy court, seeking acknowledgment of an insolvency proceeding in the United Kingdom through which it aims to manage its American assets while pursuing a sale to a competitor.

  • April 11, 2025

    Dentsply Brass Face Investor Suit Over Alleged Dental Injuries

    Executives and directors of dental supply manufacturing company Dentsply Sirona Inc. have been hit with a derivative suit alleging they concealed that a company subsidiary was approving unsuitable patients for dental treatments to inflate sales figures.

  • April 11, 2025

    Telehealth Co. Sued Over 2024 Data Breach

    A company that helps healthcare providers manage after-hours patient calls was hit with a proposed class action in New York federal court Friday alleging that it failed to secure user data prior to a 2024 breach that exposed the sensitive information of nearly 1 million people.

  • April 09, 2025

    23andMe Asks For Independent Customer Data Rep In Ch. 11

    Genetic testing company 23andMe asked a Missouri bankruptcy judge to let it appoint an independent customer data representative as it looks to sell genetic data of 15 million users at a Chapter 11 auction.

  • April 07, 2025

    Fla. Man Pleads Guilty In $8.4M Medicare ID Fraud Case

    A Fort Lauderdale man has pled guilty in Florida federal court to criminal charges accusing him of illegally buying Medicare identification numbers and using those numbers to help submit $8.4 million in false Medicare claims.

  • April 03, 2025

    Hospital Group Urges 4th Circ. To Undo Data Access Order

    Industry groups representing hospitals and health data companies have urged the Fourth Circuit to rethink its panel's dismissal of an appeal over an order forcing an electronic medical records company to let a nursing data company access patients' information, saying the order creates a financial burden on the healthcare system.

  • April 02, 2025

    Congress Demands VA Update Health Record System Costs

    A bipartisan group of congressional leaders has sent a letter demanding that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs update its schedule and cost estimate for its problem-ridden, multibillion-dollar electronic health record modernization program, just as the VA announced it would roll out the system to nine additional sites in 2026.

  • April 02, 2025

    Zoll Gets Parts Of Data Breach Class Action Tossed

    A Massachusetts federal judge released Zoll Medical Corp. from some claims brought by a proposed class of medical device customers whose personal data was released after two ransomware attacks, but kept alive claims of negligence, unjust enrichment and others.

  • April 02, 2025

    Orthodontic Software Co. Hit With Data Breach Class Action

    An orthodontic software company has been hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court over a November data breach in which the names, birth dates, medical records, insurance information, payment card data and Social Security numbers of its clients' patients were stolen by hackers.

  • April 01, 2025

    The Loss For Litigants In Federal LGBTQ Data Rollback

    Brad Sears of UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute talks about the fight to expand LGBTQ representation in federal datasets and the threat to litigants if surveys capturing the information are stopped amid a Trump administration purge.

  • April 01, 2025

    IBM And J&J Beat 'Speculative' Data Breach Suit, For Now

    A New York federal judge has tossed with leave to amend a proposed class action alleging IBM and Johnson & Johnson's healthcare arm failed to safeguard sensitive health information of thousands of patients before a 2023 data breach, finding the purported harm is "entirely speculative" as currently alleged.

  • March 31, 2025

    Texas Judge Deems Lab-Test Rule Outside FDA Authority

    A Texas federal judge on Monday vacated a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule that would have brought lab-developed tests under its regulatory authority as "medical devices," finding that the move exceeded the agency's statutory authority and defied "common sense."

  • March 31, 2025

    Buyer Class Of Surgical Robots Is Certified In Antitrust Fight

    A California federal judge on Monday certified a class of thousands of hospitals alleging Intuitive Surgical monopolized the market for robotic surgical tools by blocking third-party repairs and tying services to robot purchases, finding the case raises common antitrust questions that can be resolved on a classwide basis.

  • March 31, 2025

    FTC Chair Flags Data Risks In 23andMe Bankruptcy

    The Federal Trade Commission has added to the swell of privacy and security concerns surrounding the potential sale of sensitive consumer information swept up in the 23andMe bankruptcy, with the agency's Republican chair on Monday stressing the importance of data continuing to be protected in the way that users have been promised. 

  • March 27, 2025

    Meet The Attys Helping 23AndMe Through Ch. 11

    DNA testing company 23andMe Holding Co. enlisted a group of attorneys from Carmody MacDonald PC and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP to help it address $214 million in debt as it tries to sell its business through Chapter 11.

  • March 26, 2025

    Sotomayor Urges Caution On Nondelegation Doctrine Revamp

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cautioned her colleagues during oral arguments Wednesday against using a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's administration of a broadband subsidy program as a way to resurrect the long-dormant nondelegation doctrine. Several conservative justices, however, seemed willing to disregard that admonition.

  • March 26, 2025

    23andMe Says Ch. 11 Privacy Ombudsman Not Required

    DNA testing company 23andMe Inc.'s customer data will be protected in Chapter 11, its attorneys told a Missouri bankruptcy judge Wednesday as it argued that the appointment of a consumer privacy ombudsman is not required.

  • March 25, 2025

    Catching Up With New Bankruptcy Case Action

    23andMe Holding Co. entered Chapter 11 to sell its business and address $214 million in debt; Danimer Scientific Inc., which makes plastics alternatives, entered Chapter 11 to wind down while it tends to its roughly $450 million debt burden; and sneaker shop Soleply began a streamlined bankruptcy for small businesses in an effort to exit some lease obligations and restructure its debt.

  • March 24, 2025

    Period App Users Get $3.5M In Privacy Deal With Analytics Co.

    A defunct mobile analytics company caught up in a proposed class action alleging a menstruation tracking app impermissibly shared health information with Google and others has agreed to a $3.5 million settlement with app users, given its "limited pool of funds," app users informed a California federal court on Friday.

  • March 24, 2025

    Children's Hospital Axes Suit Over Meta Info Sharing, For Now

    A Minnesota federal judge tossed a proposed class action alleging a children's hospital used ad tracking software on its website that disclosed minor patients' sensitive information with Meta Platforms Inc., Google LLC and other third parties, saying the patients' parents don't have standing to sue.

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

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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.