Digital Health & Technology
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November 20, 2023
Feds ID 330K More Potential Victims In Medicare Data Breach
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid says the personal information of an additional 330,000 patients may have been exposed in a cyberattack carried out earlier this year targeting the file-sharing tool MOVEit.
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November 20, 2023
Mich. Health Co. Sued Again Over Breach Spanning 2M People
Michigan health system McLaren Health Care Corp. was hit with another federal lawsuit claiming it recklessly failed to protect its data systems from a cyberattack in August that allegedly compromised the personal information of over 2 million individuals.
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November 17, 2023
NY Health System Accused Of Exposing 3.9M Patients' Data
New York state's largest health care system Northwell Health Inc.'s failure to protect private information exposed the data of about 3.9 million patients in a recent breach, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court.
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November 17, 2023
Fraud, Abuse Remain Top HHS Challenges, Watchdog Says
A top challenge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services remains the potential for abuse of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the agency's watchdog said in an annual report Thursday.
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November 17, 2023
Vaccine Maker Novavax Appoints New COO, CLO
Novavax Inc., a maker of vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases, on Friday appointed a president and chief operating officer and announced a new chief legal officer to replace an official who is retiring next month.
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November 15, 2023
Meta Seeks Trim Of 'Copycat' Health Privacy Suit
Meta Platforms Inc. urged a California federal judge Wednesday to shave down a lawsuit alleging the tech giant is illegally receiving consumers' sensitive health information through its Meta Pixel tool, arguing that the suit is a "copycat" of another case the court trimmed in September.
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November 15, 2023
NY Hospital Cyber Regs A Balm, Not Cure, For Security Woes
New York state's proposals for addressing hospital cybersecurity — and providing millions in funding for security upgrades — could help some of the state's smallest hospitals catch up on the latest safeguards and minimum standards against ransomware attacks and data breaches, but they're far from a cure-all for the incidents plaguing health care.
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November 15, 2023
UnitedHealth Uses AI To Deny Patient Services, Suit Says
UnitedHealth knowingly uses an artificial intelligence service with a high error rate to override physician recommendations and deny elderly patients care owed to them through Medicare plans, according to a proposed class action in Minnesota federal court.
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November 15, 2023
Locke Lord Brings On DLA Piper Health Ace In Miami
Locke Lord LLP announced Wednesday that it has added a new partner to its health and managed care litigation practice group in Miami, who was previously with DLA Piper.
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November 15, 2023
European Health Care Investor Clinches €740M Fund
Netherlands-based health care investor Gilde Healthcare on Wednesday announced that it closed its sixth health care venture and growth fund at its hard cap with €740 million ($803.1 million) in tow, which will be used to invest in health care companies in North America and Europe.
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November 14, 2023
Senators Told Medicare Telehealth Option Too Vital To Lose
Telehealth services made available to Medicare beneficiaries during the pandemic are critical to patient well-being, particularly in rural areas, and must be made permanent, expert witnesses largely agreed Tuesday during a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing.
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November 14, 2023
FDA Medical Device Expert Joins Cooley Life Sciences Group
Cooley LLP has hired a medical devices expert from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as special counsel to its growing global life sciences and health care regulatory practice.
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November 13, 2023
PostMeds Slapped With Another Suit Over Data Breach
A PostMeds Inc. customer has filed a proposed class action in California federal court against the online pharmacy for failing to protect sensitive patient information from a cyberattack and the slow response that followed, the latest suit following the disclosure of the breach last month.
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November 13, 2023
Polsinelli Bolsters Public Policy Practice With 2 Hires
Polsinelli PC is continuing an expansion of its public policy practice with the addition of two attorneys: one a former senior counsel for a U.S. senator and the other a former senior director at the world's largest retail trade association.
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November 09, 2023
Senators Told That AI Is Already Harming Patients
While the health care industry is focused on how new developments in artificial intelligence will reshape the field, some experts believe more attention should be paid to the fact that AI isn't just a hypothetical — it's here, and already influencing patient care.
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November 08, 2023
Advertising Group Urges Caution With Private Health Data
An industry trade group that develops self-regulatory standards for online advertising released guidance Wednesday on the use of private data in health-related digital ads.
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November 08, 2023
Amazon Launches Telehealth Platform After $4B Acquisition
Amazon has launched a new health care platform for its Prime members, offering around-the-clock access to telehealth visits for minor needs and some in-person and remote primary care services via One Medical, a digital health company it acquired for nearly $4 billion.
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November 07, 2023
Patients In Data Breach Suit Say Fraud Risk Equals Injury
Patients and employees of a network of hundreds of dental centers told a Michigan federal judge on Monday their proposed class action over a data breach can't be dismissed for a failure to allege injury because they are at imminent risk of fraud.
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November 07, 2023
Online Pharmacy Failed To Keep Patient Data Safe, Suit Says
A West Virginia man has lodged a proposed class action in California federal court against online pharmacy PostMeds Inc. for failing to protect sensitive patient information from a cyberattack and then dragging its feet before getting the word out to clients.
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November 06, 2023
New CMS Final Rule Clarifies Telehealth, Remote Care
The federal government's final Physician Fee Schedule for 2024, released last week, punts certain decisions around telehealth another year and clarifies remote care expectations under Medicare.
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November 03, 2023
'Devil's In The Details' Of Biden's AI Health Plans, Experts Say
BigLaw experts have praised President Joe Biden's sweeping plan to harness the powers of artificial intelligence to develop potent cancer treatments, improve equity in the medical field and otherwise serve patients and heal the ills of the U.S. health care industry.
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November 03, 2023
CMS To Cut Medicare Provider Payments, Drawing Industry Ire
The federal government has released its final Physician Fee Schedule, cutting Medicare payment rates for physicians in 2024 and drawing criticism from health care industry groups, which argued that the cuts would hinder care and create financial instability for doctors.
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November 03, 2023
GoodRx Threatened With Sanctions Over Settlement Notice
A California federal judge ordered GoodRx to explain why the company shouldn't be sanctioned after failing to notify the court about a related nationwide proposed class action in Florida that reached a preliminary settlement over claims the company improperly shared users' data to Meta Platforms Inc. and Google.
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November 02, 2023
Hospitals Challenge Federal Guidance On Website Tracking
The American Hospital Association sued the Biden administration Thursday over federal guidance restricting the use of online tracking technology, alleging the rule violates the First Amendment and interferes with their communication of vital health information.
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November 02, 2023
25 AGs Want Warning Labels On Oxygen-Reading Devices
Twenty-five attorneys general want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue labels on blood-oxygen-level readers warning of their "life-threatening" inaccuracies for people of color due to bias in their readings.
Expert Analysis
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The State Of Consumer Class Actions Amid COVID-19
While the pandemic has slowed the filing of consumer class actions, they remain a significant part of the litigation landscape — with false labeling claims remaining particularly popular, likely because they are easy to file and frequently survive motions to dismiss, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Anticipating The Biden Administration's Health Care Agenda
The Biden administration is unlikely to successfully push sweeping and partisan health care legislation in the next two years, but it will be able to reverse a litany of Trump administration policies pertaining to the Affordable Care Act, reproductive health care and more, say Nick Manetto and Ilisa Halpern Paul at Faegre Drinker.
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What Biden Presidency May Mean For Data Privacy Litigation
The administration of President-elect Joe Biden will likely bring major changes to data privacy law and attendant litigation, including federal legislation that could preempt state laws, renegotiation of conditions for EU data transfers to the U.S., and increased Federal Trade Commission enforcement activity, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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5 Tips For In-House Counsel Anticipating Cyber Class Actions
In light of a 270% increase in data breaches this year, and the attendant class actions, in-house counsel can prepare to efficiently manage litigation by focusing on certain initial steps, ranging from multidistrict litigation strategy to insurance best practices, say David McDowell and Nancy Thomas at MoFo.
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Where Data Privacy And CFPB Are Headed Under Biden
Data privacy is likely to be a key area of legislative and enforcement focus for President-elect Joe Biden, and consumer financial protection is expected to be an immediate priority due to the economic impact of the pandemic, with the most drastic shift likely to occur at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Ethics Considerations For Law Firms Implementing AI
Richard Finkelman and Yihua Astle at Berkeley Research Group discuss the ethical and bias concerns law firms must address when implementing artificial intelligence-powered applications for recruiting, conflict identification and client counseling.
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The Legal Implications Of Mobile Health Advancements
With the pandemic rapidly accelerating the timeline for the shift to remote and mobile health care, providers will need to keep a close eye on new privacy and cybersecurity risks, and on new potential to collect real-time information from patients, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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The Post-Election State AG Enforcement Landscape
Election results so far have kept the number of Republican and Democratic state attorneys general even, and no matter the outcome of the presidential race, AGs will work across the aisle on important issues like health care, competition and the environment, says former Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan at Kirkland.
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What A Trump Or Biden Win Will Mean For State AGs
The outcome of the presidential election will have significant consequences on cooperation between federal agencies and state attorneys general, but either way robust multistate investigations — especially in the consumer protection space — will continue, says Sean Riley at Cozen O'Connor.
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Outside Whistleblowers Are Critical To Exposing Fraud
Outsiders like industry experts, competitors, public interest organizations and concerned citizens often have deep knowledge, industry data and financial incentives that put them in a better position than insiders to spot fraud, say attorneys at Youman & Caputo, Fox Rothschild, Goldstein & Russell and Herrera Purdy.
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Comparing Recent State Data Breach Law Updates
Public and private entities should revisit their incident response plans to ensure compliance with and understand the differences among heightened data breach notification requirements that five states and Washington, D.C., added or amended this year, says Jane Petoskey at Polsinelli.
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Best Practices For Health Care Mergers In The COVID-19 Era
Health providers considering consolidation as a result of the pandemic's impact should attempt to mitigate antitrust enforcers' concerns by substantiating a merger with evidence of cost and quality efficiencies and making efforts to seek competition-friendly alternatives, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.
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Assessing Health Data Privacy Damages During A Pandemic
Class action litigation related to data privacy in the health care industry is expected to trend upward during the COVID-19 era due to increased reliance on telehealth and contact tracing initiatives, heightening the importance of understanding the different economic approaches and challenges to valuing damages, say analysts at Cornerstone Research.