Digital Health & Technology
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February 25, 2025
A Year After Change Hack, Healthcare Still A Data 'Honeypot'
A year after a massive data breach disrupted healthcare nationwide, hospitals and other providers are engaged in an "arms race" against hackers as they navigate tough budget choices and remain vulnerable to cyberattacks.
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February 25, 2025
Masimo Aims To DQ Hueston Hennigan As Ex-CEO's Counsel
Masimo Corp. is urging the Delaware Chancery Court to disqualify Hueston Hennigan LLP from representing its founder and former CEO in a lawsuit over his quest for a $450 million payout from the medical technology company, arguing the firm has a conflict of interest.
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February 20, 2025
Warby Parker Hit With $1.5M Fine After HHS Breach Probe
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it has imposed a $1.5 million fine on Warby Parker Inc. following a cyberattack on the eyewear manufacturer's website that exposed the protected health information of nearly 200,000 customers.
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February 20, 2025
Fed. Circ. Backs TTAB's Denial Of Health Co.'s Proposed TM
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board correctly denied a healthcare management company's bid to register "Formularyhub" because it's a descriptive term, the Federal Circuit said Thursday.
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February 19, 2025
Meta Should've Preserved Health Tracking Data, Judge Says
A California federal judge considering sanctions against Meta for deleting data in privacy litigation over a Facebook tool's collection of patient health information said Wednesday that he's not convinced Meta had "malintent," but said, "I do think this information should have been preserved."
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February 19, 2025
Tech Co.'s Software Doesn't Meet CMS Needs, Judge Says
A Court of Federal Claims judge denied IntelliBridge LLC's attempt to block the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from seeking bidders for its hybrid cloud product engineering and operations contract, finding on Tuesday the agency isn't trying to replicate its batCAVE software.
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February 19, 2025
Walgreens Says $1B COVID Testing Award Must Be Nixed
Walgreens is urging a Delaware federal judge to rethink his decision enforcing a $987 million arbitral award to a lab testing and diagnostics company in a dispute over COVID-19 tests, arguing Tuesday that he ignored that the arbitrator "invented" language in the contract to arrive at his conclusion.
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February 18, 2025
Human Rights Atty Sees 'Serious Risks' Of Neural Data Abuse
International human rights attorney Jared Genser spoke with ¼«ËÙÈü³µ Healthcare Authority about the "serious risks of misuse and abuse of neurotechnologies" that have led California and Colorado to expand their state consumer privacy laws in the last year to include neural data, with similar bills pending in Montana, Massachusetts and Illinois.
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February 18, 2025
Attys Talk AI Risks, Compliance At Health Law Conference
Amid the generative artificial intelligence boom, the healthcare industry is navigating the challenge of incorporating new technology — such as automated clinical documentation and fraud detection algorithms — into their systems while anticipating enforcement action, litigation and regulatory requirements.
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February 13, 2025
UnitedHealth Can't Escape All Claims In AI Denial Suit
A Minnesota federal judge Thursday allowed Medicare Advantage patients and the estates of deceased enrollees to pursue breach of contract claims against UnitedHealth over its alleged use of AI to override physician recommendations, finding they are not preempted by the Medicare Act, but tossed others by holding they are preempted.
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February 11, 2025
Wash. Health Privacy Law Debuts In Amazon Tracking Suit
A Washington resident has launched the first claims under the state's groundbreaking health privacy law, as part of a proposed class action accusing Amazon of unlawfully harvesting location data from tens of millions of mobile phone users through third-party apps that are running the company's software development kit.Â
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February 11, 2025
Ore. Rep. Nelson Talks New AI Bill And 'Sacred' Nurse Title
As healthcare organizations grapple with the arrival of artificial intelligence in the workplace, Oregon state Rep. Travis Nelson, a registered nurse, recently introduced a bill that would prohibit a nonhuman entity from being called "nurse" or other similar titles. In a recent Q&A, he spoke to ¼«ËÙÈü³µ Healthcare Authority about House Bill 2748 and the use of AI in the industry.
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February 11, 2025
Fla. Judge OKs $7M Deal In Health Data Breach Class Action
A Florida federal judge Tuesday granted final approval of a $7 million class action settlement as part of multidistrict litigation over the theft of personal information from millions of U.S. citizens in a health data breach linked to a Russian ransomware group.
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February 04, 2025
Politics Swirl Around HIPAA As DOJ Drops Doc Leaker Case
The government's decision in the early days of the Trump administration to drop charges that a Texas surgeon leaked information about minors receiving gender-affirming care to a conservative journalist is raising concerns about the "politicization" of federal health privacy enforcement.
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February 03, 2025
Kochava Still Can't Get FTC Location Privacy Suit Thrown Out
An Idaho federal judge on Monday again refused to throw out the Federal Trade Commission's suit accusing mobile app analytics provider Kochava Inc. of selling consumers' geolocation data without proper consent, ruling that nothing meaningful has changed since Kochava's previous dismissal bid.
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February 03, 2025
Apple Seeks Bench Trial Win In Masimo's Trade Secret Suit
Apple Inc. urged a California federal judge Monday to issue a bench trial ruling that it didn't steal Masimo Corp.'s pulse oximetry technology for its smartwatches, arguing no actual trade secrets were at issue and that it used its own independently developed innovations to create the blockbuster product.
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January 31, 2025
Supreme Court Eyes Its 'Next Frontier' In FCC Delegation Case
A case about broadband subsidies will give the U.S. Supreme Court the chance to revive a long-dormant separation of powers principle that attorneys say could upend regulations in numerous industries and trigger a power shift that would make last term's shake-up of federal agency authority pale in comparison. And a majority of the court already appears to support its resurrection.
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January 31, 2025
JAMS Adds AI-Focused Litigation Vet To Arbitration Team
The alternative dispute resolution service JAMS has expanded its arbitration and mediation team with the addition of an attorney with over three decades of experience spanning complex commercial litigation, independent arbitration and leadership positions at the American Bar Association.
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January 30, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Sanctions Miss, Philip Morris Refund
In the second half of January, the North Carolina Business Court tussled with sanctions against a biogas company, heard claims an insurer tried to deliberately embarrass Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and ordered an $11 million tax refund for Philip Morris.
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January 28, 2025
4th Circ. Raises Questions Over Health Data Access Order
A Fourth Circuit panel focused Tuesday on whether an exception to federal law barring electronic health record companies from blocking the exchange of patient data applies to a request from Real Time Medical Systems to access nursing home data from PointClickCare.
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January 28, 2025
New York Eyes Tightened Health Data Privacy Law
New York is set to join a handful of states putting broad new legal safeguards around the collection and sale of sensitive health information, adding to an increasingly complex landscape of health privacy laws.
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January 28, 2025
Remote Access To Anti-Addiction Meds Unclear Under Trump
Depending on what the Trump administration does next with a telehealth rule finalized in the last days of the Biden administration, remote access to a lifesaving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder could either be expanded or constricted.
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January 27, 2025
UnitedHealth Raises Cyberattack Estimate To 190M Individuals
A debilitating cyberattack last year that sabotaged vital billing and prescribing services operated by a UnitedHealth Group unit affected personal information belonging to roughly 190 million individuals, the health insurer disclosed Friday, nearly doubling its previous estimate of the scope of the incident.Â
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January 24, 2025
Patient Can't Sue Over Clinic's 'Data Incident,' Ill. Justices Say
A medical clinic patient who received a letter stating a "data incident" may have compromised her personal information but appeared not to have led to the information's misuse does not have standing to pursue proposed class claims for damages, the Illinois Supreme Court said Friday.
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January 24, 2025
IVF Patients Want CooperSurgical Embryo Loss Suits Joined
Four product liability lawsuits targeting the maker of recalled culture media for in vitro fertilization should be consolidated and sent to the Connecticut Superior Court's complex litigation docket, the parties have agreed, but defendant CooperSurgical Inc. wants them kept out of Stamford.
Expert Analysis
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How Tech Trackers May Implicate HIPAA After Hospital Ruling
A recent Texas federal court order in American Hospital Association v. Becerra adds a legal protection on key data, clarifying when tracking technologies implicate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so organizations should ensure all technology used is known and accounted for, say John Howard and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.
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6 Lessons From DOJ's 1st Controlled Drug Case In Telehealth
Following the U.S. Department of Justice’s first-ever criminal prosecution over telehealth-prescribed controlled substances in U.S. v. Ruthia He, healthcare providers should be mindful of the risks associated with restricting the physician-patient relationship when crafting new business models, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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After Chevron: Scale Tips Favor Away From HHS Agencies
The loss of Chevron deference may indirectly aid parties in challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' interpretations of regulations and could immediately influence several pending cases challenging HHS on technical questions and agency authority, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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After Chevron: FDA Regulations In The Crosshairs
The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of the Chevron doctrine is likely to unleash an array of challenges against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing on areas of potential overreach such as the FDA's authority under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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5 Critical Factors Driving Settlement Values In Cyber Litigation
Recent ransomware incidents and their legal repercussions offer five valuable insights into the determinants of settlement values in cyberattack-related litigation, and understanding these trends and their implications can better prepare organizations for the potential legal fallout from future breaches, says Peter Kamminga at JAMS.
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PBM Takeaways From Proposed Telehealth Flexibility Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives' proposal to extend certain telehealth flexibilities signals a robust commitment to expanding telehealth access, though its plan to offset additional expenses through pharmacy benefit manager reform could lead to some industry consolidation, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Unpacking NY's Revised Hospital Cybersecurity Rule Proposal
The New York State Department of Health's recently revised hospital cybersecurity rule proposal highlights increased expectations and scrutiny around cybersecurity in the healthcare sector, while adapting to both recent industry developments and public comments, say Christine Moundas and Gideon Zvi Palte at Ropes & Gray.
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FDA's Data Monitoring Guidance Reveals Future Expectations
As the world of clinical research grows increasingly complex, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recent draft guidance on the use of data monitoring committees in clinical trials reveals how the agency expects such committees to develop, say Melissa Markey and Carolina Wirth at Hall Render.
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'Food As Health' Serves Up Fresh Legal Considerations
The growth of food as medicine presents a significant opportunity for healthcare organizations and nontraditional healthcare players to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, though these innovative programs also bring compliance considerations that must be carefully navigated, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Key Takeaways From FDA Final Rule On Lab-Developed Tests
Michele Buenafe and Dennis Gucciardo at Morgan Lewis discuss potential consequences of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized rule regulating lab-developed tests as medical devices, and explain the rule's phaseout policy for enforcement discretion.
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Examining Illinois Genetic Privacy Law Amid Deluge Of Claims
After a federal court certified an Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act class action in August, claims under the law have skyrocketed, so employers, insurers and others that collect health and genetic information should ensure compliance with the act to limit litigation risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Del. Ruling Highlights M&A Deal Adviser Conflict Disclosures
The Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed the Court of Chancery's dismissal of challenges to Nordic Capital's acquisition of Inovalon, demonstrating the importance of full disclosure of financial adviser conflicts when a going-private merger seeks business judgment rule review, say attorneys at Debevoise.