Web Tracking Technologies

Join Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman, P.C. attorneys Mark Swearingen and Cory Brennan for a webinar discussing the use of web tracking technologies such as cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and fingerprinting scripts to track and collect information from hospital website users. Common tracking technologies include Meta (Facebook) Pixel, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Adobe Analytics, Salesforce, Hotjar, and SiteImprove.

– The discussion of web tracking technologies first came to light in June of 2022, through an investigative report published by The Markup, which reported that health care organizations across the country may have installed the Meta Pixel on their patient portal and other patient-facing websites and that the Pixel appeared to be transmitting PHI to Meta.

– Several entities have reported HIPAA breaches relating to their use of web tracking technologies, and there are numerous pending investigations by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), state Attorneys General, and Congress. Class action lawsuits are also regularly being filed against health care organizations that utilize web tracking technologies.

– On Dec. 1, 2022, OCR released a bulletin on the use of web tracking technologies by covered entities and business associates, which outlined concerns and provided guidance for ensuring HIPAA compliance when utilizing web tracking technologies.

– Hospitals utilizing web tracking technologies on any web pages should work with legal counsel to undertake a detailed forensic investigation to understand what those technologies are collecting and transmitting and to determine whether or not a HIPAA violation may have occurred.