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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Health

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, June 27, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will provide practitioners with an update on the latest U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS-OCR) and FTC guidance related to the use of online tracking technology in the healthcare industry. The panel will examine notable enforcement actions and discuss recent class action litigation related to this technology. The panel will also address state/local law interaction and offer best practices for compliance.

Faculty

Beth Neal Pitman
Partner
Holland & Knight LLP

Ms. Pitman advises healthcare systems and providers and healthcare information technology (IT) businesses when navigating healthcare privacy and cybersecurity regulations, other healthcare regulations, and government reimbursement program matters. Her experience includes the development and ongoing management of comprehensive HIPAA compliance programs, including drafting and negotiating business associate agreements, policies and training. When a data breach or other privacy regulatory violation occurs, Ms. Pitman guides her clients through the process for responding to the breach and any subsequent federal or state government investigations. She also provides advice to clients related to the frequent changes associated with the many federal healthcare payment programs.

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Christopher M. Iaquinto
Partner
Holland & Knight LLP

Mr. Iaquinto is a member of the firm's Data Strategy, Security and Privacy Practice Group and a part of the White Collar Defense and Investigations and Global Compliance and Investigations Teams. His practice focuses on advising clients on cybersecurity and data privacy matters, guiding clients through civil or criminal internal and governmental investigations, and litigating such matters in federal and state court. Mr. Iaquinto is an experienced trial attorney who advises clients on a wide range of data strategy and information governance matters, including the development and implementation of security and privacy programs, technical controls, adtech and data analytics. He has defended clients engaged in complex litigations, including tech- and data-related class actions involving allegations of website wiretapping, data over-collection and data misuse.

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Description

The use of online tracking technology on healthcare websites and apps is under heightened scrutiny by regulators who continue to focus on how this technology may be used while remaining compliant within HIPAA and FTC parameters. This technology has also become the focus of the plaintiffs' class action bar resulting in multi-million dollar settlements for targeted healthcare entities.

The HHS-OCR released updated guidance on Mar. 18, 2024 on the uses of tracking technology by HIPAA-regulated entities. The revisions focus on the agency's position related to the collection and disclosure of individually identifiable health information (IIHI) through a HIPAA-regulated entity's unauthenticated, public-facing webpages and clarify under what circumstances the identifying information resulting from a person's use of a website qualifies as IIHI. Similarly, the FTC continues to closely scrutinize the use of online tracking technology by HIPAA-covered and non-HIPAA-covered entities as demonstrated through the agency's guidance and high-profile enforcement actions over the last year.

The plaintiffs' class action bar has taken notice, filing high-profile suits such as the In Re: Meta Pixel Healthcare Litigation and other class action suits against healthcare providers that have cost millions of dollars to settle (e.g., Advocate Aurora Health's $12.25 million and Novant Health's $6.6 million recent settlements).

Listen as our expert panel provides an update on the most recent regulatory guidance related to the use of online tracking technology in healthcare. The panel will discuss recent agency enforcement actions and review notable class action litigation related to this technology. The panel will also discuss interaction with state/local laws and offer best practices for compliance.

Outline

  1. Introduction: overview of online tracking technology
  2. Legislative and regulatory developments
    1. HHS-OCR/HIPAA
      1. December 2022 original guidance
      2. March 2024 updated guidance
    2. FTC/FTC Act and Health Breach Notification Rule
      1. September 2023 guidance
    3. FTC/HHS-OCR joint agency letter – July 2023
    4. State/local law interaction
  3. Class action litigation and costly settlements
  4. Best practices for compliance

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important considerations:

  • What is the status of federal regulation related to the use of online tracking technology in the healthcare industry? What interaction does the federal regulation have with state/local privacy laws?
  • How does HHS-OCR's recently issued revised guidance on using online tracking technology impact HIPAA-regulated entities?
  • What is the latest FTC guidance related to the use of online tracking technology?
  • What can counsel learn from recent HHS-OCR and FTC enforcement actions? From recent class action litigation?