Digital Health & Technology

  • January 14, 2025

    HHS' Strategic Plan For Healthcare AI: 3 Things To Know

    A federal strategic plan for the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare calls for setting clear regulations and collaborating with private groups as part of a broad framework to support innovation and protect patients.

  • January 14, 2025

    How Calif. Became 1st State To Ban AI Healthcare Denials

    Amid growing concerns about healthcare insurance claims and artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind California law requires a qualified human healthcare provider – not algorithms – make critical calls based on medical necessity. Similar legislation is anticipated in other states.

  • January 13, 2025

    California's AG Warns Businesses State Is Not AI 'Wild West'

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned businesses on Monday that the state is not the "wild west" of artificial intelligence and has various laws on the books preventing the technology from being used to discriminate or violate people's rights. 

  • January 13, 2025

    Nvidia's Healthcare Ambitions Grow In New Partnerships

    Nvidia announced Monday that it has inked four new healthcare partnerships, a move that comes on the first day of the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.

  • January 10, 2025

    Masimo, Apple Fight Over Watch IP In Post-Bench Trial Briefs

    Masimo and Apple have submitted dueling briefs to a California federal judge following a trade secret retrial over health sensing technology in Apple's smartwatches, with Masimo maintaining Apple poached its employees to steal its intellectual property and Apple contending Masimo failed for years to "back up their spurious claims" of misappropriation.

  • January 10, 2025

    Infosys Files Antitrust Counterclaims In Trade Secrets Suit

    Healthcare payments software company Infosys has hit back with antitrust counterclaims against Cognizant TriZetto Software Group's Texas federal court suit accusing Infosys of abusing its system access to develop competing services.

  • January 10, 2025

    Tech Co., Feds Seek Wins In Commercial Item Preference Row

    A tech company is asking a federal judge to block the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from proceeding with solicitations that stand to replace so-called batCAVE and Signal software it developed that is already providing the desired functionality.

  • January 10, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Hearing Aid Co.'s Win Over Investor Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday handed a win to Eargo Inc. and affirmed the dismissal of a securities class action against the hearing aid company, which alleged that the company and its top brass acted with intent to commit insurance billing fraud.

  • January 10, 2025

    Social Media Apps Fail To Trim Calif. Mental Health Mass Tort

    Meta Platforms, YouTube, Snap and TikTok have lost a bid to cut failure-to-warn claims from consolidated litigation over their social media platforms' alleged harm to youth mental health, with a California state judge ruling that neither the Communications Decency Act nor the First Amendment bar liability based on an app's own features.

  • January 10, 2025

    1st Circ. Questions Reach Of Anti-Torture Law In Civil Cases

    The First Circuit on Friday hinted it may be considering limits on the jurisdiction of the Torture Victims Protection Act, during a hearing where former Justice Stephen Breyer recalled concerns he first raised on the Supreme Court that an overly broad reading could pave the way for other nations to arrest Americans for incidents on U.S. soil.

  • January 09, 2025

    'Stunned': Judge Rips Atty For Violating Antitrust Trial Order

    A California federal judge overseeing an antitrust jury trial over claims that Intuitive Surgical was a monopolist that abused its power by blocking hospitals from using a service to extend the life of a component related to its surgical-robot arms said Thursday she was "stunned" when plaintiff Surgical Instrument Service showed a video that violated a pretrial order.

  • January 09, 2025

    Cancer Org Fails To Get Rival's TM Counterclaims Tossed

    A Georgia federal judge said Thursday that the Glioblastoma Foundation Inc. can't yet escape a series of counterclaims filed against it by a rival nonprofit amid a trademark spat, ruling that its defenses in a dismissal bid largely relied on factual issues about whether the rival fraudulently obtained the marks at issue.

  • January 09, 2025

    VITAS Must Face Wiretap Suit Over Customer Service Calls

    A California federal judge declined to toss a putative class action alleging VITAS Healthcare violated wiretapping laws by helping a third-party software developer eavesdrop on calls with VITAS' customers, noting Wednesday the third party was capable of using the data derived from the calls for its own purposes.

  • January 08, 2025

    Intuitive Killed Biz For Reusing Robo-Surgery Arms, Jury Told

    The president of a family-owned medical instrument repair business suing biotechnology company Intuitive Surgical on antitrust claims told a California federal jury Wednesday that his company saw a "huge opportunity" in providing a service that extended the life of Intuitive's surgical robot arms, but hospitals balked after Intuitive sent threatening letters.

  • January 08, 2025

    Patent Board Knocks Out Most Of Apple Patent

    Two rulings out of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board have wiped out several claims in a patent Apple is asserting against a medical software company that was initially first to assert patents against Apple over health-related programming in the Apple Watch.

  • January 08, 2025

    Telligen's TM Suit Against IT Co. Can Move Forward

    A California federal judge is letting a trademark lawsuit from health data company Telligen proceed against information technology company Telligens, ruling that he was not yet convinced that the suit was filed 10 years too late.

  • January 08, 2025

    Biotech Co.'s Facility Failures Lost Investors Money, Suit Says

    The executives and directors of biotechnology company Humacyte Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in North Carolina federal court alleging the company concealed that its manufacturing facility failed to comply with certain quality assurance practices, leading to delayed regulatory review for its product candidate.

  • January 07, 2025

    Robo Surgery Co. Gets Billions From Selling Parts, Jury Told

    Surgical Instrument Service accused Intuitive Surgical at the start of a federal trial Tuesday of being a monopolist making billions of dollars by blocking hospitals from extending the life of reusable surgical-robot components, while Intuitive blasted the medical instrument repair company for "trying to misuse antitrust laws to enrich itself."

  • January 07, 2025

    HHS Fines Mass. Health Firm $80K Over Ransomware Attack

    Elgon Information Systems, which provides digital medical record and billing support services, will pay $80,000 over alleged healthcare data protection rule violations following a ransomware attack on its systems in March 2023 that impacted roughly 31,248 customers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.

  • January 07, 2025

    HIPAA Cyber Rule Shake-Up Arrives On Eve Of Trump's Return

    A massive cybersecurity rule change proposed this week would require healthcare providers and insurers to protect patient data with multifactor authentication and other safeguards. Attorneys are watching to see if the Trump administration changes course.

  • January 06, 2025

    Labcorp Loses Appeal Of Gene-Testing Patent In $372M Case

    Labcorp, one of the world's largest chains of clinical lab providers, lost its appeal over a patent tied to a $372 million judgment it is facing in the Western District of Texas, after Federal Circuit judges on Monday upheld an administrative patent board ruling against it two years ago.

  • December 20, 2024

    Medical Records Co. Wants Rival's Antitrust Suit Tossed

    Epic Systems Corp. told a New York federal court that an antitrust case lodged by Particle Health Inc. is really just payback for revealing concerns that Particle allowed its customers to inappropriately access personal medical records.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Scope Of FTC's Health Info Enforcement May Expand

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    The Federal Trade Commission's proposed amendments to the Health Breach Notification Rule signal the agency's mounting efforts to regulate consumer health information beyond the reaches of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, which does not cover many recent health apps and technologies, say Jodi Daniel and Brandon Ge at Crowell & Moring.

  • How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

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    Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

  • Rare FDA Move Shows Stance On Remote Monitoring Devices

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent warning letter to iRhythm Technologies represents a relatively unprecedented degree of scrutiny to the remote monitoring device industry, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Tips For In-House Legal Leaders In A Challenging Economy

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    Amid today's economic and geopolitical uncertainty, in-house legal teams are running lean and facing increased scrutiny and unique issues, but can step up and find innovative ways to manage outcomes and capitalize on good business opportunities, says Tim Parilla at LinkSquares.

  • Health Providers Must Beware FCA Risks When Using AI

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    Though recent innovations in artificial intelligence can potentially bring increased productivity, greater efficiency and reduced costs to the healthcare industry, providers must take appropriate precautions to avoid risks and potential False Claims Act liability, says Sara Lord at Arnall Golden.

  • New Considerations In Med Device Cybersecurity Compliance

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    Recent guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration clarifies premarket submission procedures related to medical device cybersecurity, and indicates a significant expansion in the agency's expectations surrounding risk management practices for both manufacturers and providers, says Meghna Parikh at Buchalter.

  • Federal Oversight Of AI In Healthcare Is Taking Shape

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    A recent proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides early insights into how the federal government intends to oversee artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare, highlighting priorities like transparency, equity and potential kickback implications, say attorneys at Hooper Lundy.

  • A Close Look At Pennsylvania's Data Breach Law Changes

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    New amendments to Pennsylvania's Breach of Personal Information Notification Act will hold state agencies to stricter notification requirements more in line with those in other states, and will allow entities to determine a breach has occurred before their notification obligations take effect, says Lauren Godfrey at Constangy.

  • Abortion Pill Rulings Will Hinder FDA Authority

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    Although the Fifth Circuit recently stayed a Texas federal court's ruling that invalidated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a commonly used abortion medication, several points made by the courts are worth considering for their potentially chilling effect on FDA authority and the challenges they may create for the life sciences industry, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Key Guidelines For Conducting Clinical Trials Overseas

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Conducting clinical trials outside the U.S. offers many benefits to researchers, but these benefits come with countervailing ethical and legal challenges that must be carefully addressed, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • Recent Growth Factors Driving Life Sciences Transactions

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    In view of challenges posed by last year's economic downturn, life sciences companies have increasingly turned to collaboration and licensing arrangements, with a focus on deal activity in artificial intelligence, digital health and gene therapy, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • How Cannabis Cos. Can Keep Up With Privacy Compliance

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    With the cannabis industry's rapid growth and access to sensitive consumer information, and the ever-changing patchwork of state data privacy laws, it is becoming increasingly important for marijuana businesses to treat cybersecurity as a significant risk and management priority, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • FTC's Health Privacy Actions Offer 5 Advertising Takeaways

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement actions against GoodRx and BetterHelp highlight the need for any company engaging in common online advertising practices to pay close attention to the personal information they collect and share with third parties, say Kate Black and Sam Castic at Hintze Law.