Digital Health & Technology

  • February 26, 2024

    UnitedHealth Unit Hits 6th Day Of IT Outage After Cyberattack

    A UnitedHealth Group unit on Monday entered its sixth day of dealing with a cyberattack that breached its information technology systems and services spanning pharmacy claims billing, medical records and payor communications software.

  • February 26, 2024

    NC Hospital's Weak Data Security Led To Breach, Suit Says

    A patient filed a proposed class action in North Carolina's business court alleging a hospital system's inadequate data security resulted in a breach that allowed hackers to access private personal and health information.

  • February 23, 2024

    Seattle Hospital Gets Facebook Browser Tracking Suit Tossed

    A Washington state judge sided with Seattle Children's Hospital on Friday, throwing out a proposed class action accusing the healthcare provider of privacy law violations and agreeing the group of parents hadn't shown how the use of a browser tracking tool on its website disclosed confidential patient information to Facebook.

  • February 23, 2024

    Chamber's Report Bemoans Biden's March-In Idea For Drug IP

    The most powerful business lobbying group in the U.S. said that although the country ranked at the top of its annual International IP Index, the Biden administration's efforts to potentially use patent laws to reduce the price of pharmaceuticals would jeopardize its place down the line.

  • February 23, 2024

    Fla. Doctor Says T-Mobile Let Hacker Steal Her SIM Card

    A Tampa, Florida, doctor has sued T-Mobile for allegedly failing to stop a "SIM swap" hacker from transferring her personal phone account and then doing little to address the identity theft that followed, which involved the hacker trying to steal thousands from her retirement account and using her medical credentials to write more than 700 fraudulent prescriptions.

  • February 23, 2024

    Healthcare AI Startup Abridge Raises $150M

    AI clinical documentation company Abridge said on Friday that it had raised a $150 million series C round to build on its existing product lines and accelerate research and development.

  • February 22, 2024

    HHS' Civil Rights Office Reaches 2nd-Ever Ransomware Deal

    The Department of Health and Human Services has reached a deal with a Maryland-based behavioral health practice over a ransomware attack that affected the protected health information of nearly 15,000 individuals.

  • February 22, 2024

    HHS Warning to Congress: Health Data Breaches Surging

    The number of large data breaches exposing protected health information more than doubled in a recent five-year period, reaching 626 incidents in 2022 that affected nearly 42 million people, federal officials said Thursday.

  • February 22, 2024

    Mich. Judge OKs $52M Deal For Mayo Foundation Subscribers

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday gave the initial approval to a $52 million deal for subscribers to the Mayo Foundation's health magazine who allege the publisher shared their private information without consent.

  • February 21, 2024

    Del. Suit Accuses Healthcare Data Co. Exec Of Insider Trading

    A stockholder launched a derivative lawsuit late Wednesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging the founder of a behavioral healthcare data firm traded company shares using insider information and that nearly a dozen current and former directors and officers provided false and misleading disclosures about the business.

  • February 21, 2024

    Former Exec Convicted Of Medtronic Insider Trading Scheme

    A Minneapolis man who tipped off a friend about his employer's secret negotiations on a $1.6 billion acquisition deal with medical device company Medtronic has been convicted of securities fraud and conspiring to commit insider trading, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office has announced.

  • February 21, 2024

    3rd Circ. Kicks Data Privacy Suit Against Penn To State Court

    A proposed class action alleging that the University of Pennsylvania violated the state's privacy law must head back to state court, the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday, rejecting arguments that the university health system acted as a federal officer by operating an online patient portal.

  • February 20, 2024

    Ala. Justices Deem Frozen Embryos Children Under State Law

    The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos count as children in a first-of-its-kind decision bemoaned by advocates and a dissenting judge as potentially ruinous for in vitro fertilization services in the state. 

  • February 20, 2024

    FDA Flags 'Alarming Trend' Of Bad Data In Med Device Testing

    The Food and Drug Administration warned medical device manufacturers Tuesday that it has spotted an uptick in fraudulent data submitted by applicants seeking approval for new devices, an "alarming trend" the agency said could harm patients' access to vital medical equipment.

  • February 20, 2024

    Biology AI Startup Bioptimus Raises $35M Seed Round

    Artificial intelligence startup Bioptimus has raised $35 million to build an AI foundational model focused on biology, the company announced Tuesday.

  • February 20, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Microsoft's PTAB Win Over 3D Patents

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board properly invalidated a pair of 3D medical imaging patents challenged by Microsoft, the Federal Circuit affirmed Tuesday.

  • February 15, 2024

    7th Circ. Rejects Ancestry.com's Arbitration Bid In Privacy Suit

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision that minors suing Ancestry.com for sharing their genetic testing information can avoid arbitration, saying there was no language in the terms their parents signed designating the children as parties to the agreement.

  • February 15, 2024

    House Committee Blasts VA, Oracle For E-Record Failures

    Lawmakers on Thursday rebuked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Oracle Corp. for inadequate fixes to electronic medical records systems that they say continue to threaten the health and safety of thousands of veterans, who are not being advised of the risk.

  • February 15, 2024

    Med Monitoring Claims In Philips MDL Sent Back For Review

    The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over Koninklijke Philips NV's recalled breathing machines has declined a special master's recommendation to trim claims seeking medical monitoring for some users, instead sending the case back for a deeper look at which states would allow such claims or whether they required proof of physical injury.

  • February 14, 2024

    Telehealth Advocates Press DEA On Prescription 'Red Flags'

    Several telehealth providers, policy organizations and a technology company joined forces to urge the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to provide "explicit guidance" to pharmacists about filling prescriptions for controlled substances that result from telehealth visits. 

  • February 14, 2024

    Mo. Hospital Faces Action Over Breach Of 500K Patients' Data

    A Missouri hospital has been hit with a proposed class action after allegedly taking five months to notify more than 500,000 patients that their sensitive information had been compromised, according to a complaint filed in Missouri federal court.

  • February 14, 2024

    NYC Sues Facebook, Social Media Cos. Over Teen Addiction

    New York City on Wednesday became the latest government entity to accuse social media giants such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube of purposefully hooking youth on their platforms and driving a mental health care crisis by designing their apps to mimic gambling and tobacco industry tactics in a California state court suit.

  • February 14, 2024

    Software Co. Inks $4M Deal In Privacy Suit Over Breached Info

    Patients suing software company Connexin Software for allegedly failing to safeguard the healthcare and personal identifiable information of more than 200,000 people compromised during a data breach, including that of children, asked a Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday to approve a $4 million class settlement.

  • February 14, 2024

    Dad Sues Hacked Chicago Children's Hospital Again

    A plaintiff already suing Ann Lurie Children's Hospital over alleged negligence in managing its medical records has again targeted the Chicago hospital, claiming it didn't do enough to protect patient data from hackers who have stymied hospital operations for weeks. 

  • February 13, 2024

    LabCorp Sued Over Sharing Sensitive Health Info With Google

    The Laboratory Corporation of America shares sensitive health information and website browsing history with Google without patients' knowledge or consent, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.