A major Colorado health provider faces a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging it shared sensitive patient search data with Meta through a common website tracking tool.
Larimer County resident Patrick Miller filed the suit last week in U.S. District Court in Denver, reports Denver Post.
The complaint claims UCHealth deployed Meta’s Pixel on its “Find a Doctor” feature and possibly its patient portal to capture users’ searches for conditions or symptoms along with identifying details.
That information allegedly helped build user profiles for advertising and marketing purposes, the filing states.
The lawsuit argues the practice violated HIPAA rules that generally prohibit hospitals from disclosing identifiable private health information to third parties without patient consent. The lawsuit alleges UCHealth never informed patients it could send their information to Meta.
Says the lawsuit,
“The purpose and result of defendant’s use of the tracking Pixel was marketing and profits.”
UCHealth maintains it prioritizes patient privacy and plans to defend against the claims if the case proceeds.
Says UCHeath,
“We disagree with the plaintiffs’ argument and plan to defend ourselves if this issue moves forward.”
Similar lawsuits against other health systems have resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements, including $1.8 million by Atrium Health and $3.7 million by Duke University Health System.
The suit does not name Meta as a defendant.
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