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The HIPAA Journal is the leading provider of HIPAA training, news, regulatory updates, and independent compliance advice.

Six Healthcare Orgs Settle Pixel Privacy Lawsuits

Six healthcare organizations have agreed to settle class action lawsuits stemming from their use of pixels and other tracking technologies on their websites and applications. The lawsuits all allege that the plaintiffs’ sensitive personal and health information was disclosed to third parties via these tools, without their knowledge or consent. In all cases, the healthcare organizations deny any wrongdoing.

Prime Healthcare Pixel Settlement

The Ontario, California-based healthcare provider Prime Healthcare Services, Inc., Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Sherman Oaks Hospital, and Paradise Valley Hospital were sued over their use of third-party tracking technologies, which were added to their websites starting on November 1, 2019. Through these tools, personally identifiable information was transmitted to third parties such as Meta and Google.

The lawsuit – Doe, et al. v. Prime Healthcare Services, Inc., et al. – alleges violations of multiple California laws, including the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, and the California Customer Records Act, and is pending in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County. The class members are individuals who accessed the defendants’ websites between November 1, 2019, and a variety of end dates in 2022 and 2023 depending on the specific provider website that was accessed.

The settlement provides a $20 cash payment to class members and a one-year subscription to the CyEx Privacy Shield Pro digital privacy and fraud protection service. Prime Healthcare has also agreed not to use Google Analytics or Meta Pixel code on its websites for five years and will create a Web Governance Committee, which will conduct annual audits of its websites. If any tracking tools are used, the vendors will be required to sign business associate agreements.

Your privacy respected – Read our privacy policy

Your privacy respected – Read our privacy policy

The negotiated settlement has received preliminary approval from the court, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for March 9, 2027. The deadline for objection and opting out is December 21, 2026. The deadline for filing a claim is March 9, 2027.

Arcadia Hospital Pixel Settlement

The lawsuit against California’s USC Arcadia Hospital – Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital – was filed and is pending in the Supreme Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit alleges that pixels and other tracking tools disclosed sensitive patient data to third parties such as Meta and other tech firms between February 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023.

The settlement provides one of two benefits to class members, who are individuals who completed forms on the website to sign up for email or event updates between February 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023. The benefits are an equal share of a $200,000 settlement fund after attorneys’ fees and expenses, service awards, and administration and notice costs have been deducted, or a 12-month membership to the CyEx Privacy Shield Pro digital privacy and fraud protection service.

The negotiated settlement has received preliminary approval from the court, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for December 14, 2026. The deadline for objection, opting out, and filing a claim is December 7, 2026.

Tenet Healthcare (Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis) Pixel Settlement

Dallas, Texas-based Tenet Healthcare has agreed to settle a consolidated class action lawsuit over the use of third-party tracking technologies on its websites between January 1, 2017, and September 18, 2023. The lawsuit – Jane Doe v. AMISUB (SFH), Inc. d/b/a Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis – is pending in the Circuit Court for Shelby County, Tennessee.

The settlement provides two benefits to class members, one or both of which may be claimed by individuals who used any website or patient portal owned or operated by Tenet Healthcare, its affiliated covered entities, or former affiliated covered entities to 1) create a patient portal account, 2) complete a web form, or 3) check in to an urgent care or emergency room, or 4) used the Healthelife app, and other web-based tools and services operated by or on behalf of defendant between January 1, 2017, and September 18, 2023.

The benefits for the class members are a one-time cash payment of $16.00 and a two-year membership to the CyEx Privacy Shield Pro digital privacy and fraud protection service. The negotiated settlement has received preliminary approval from the court, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for January 14, 2027. The deadline for objection and opting out is December 21, 2026. The deadline for filing a claim is March 15, 2027.

Fertility Centers of Illinois Pixel Settlement

Fertility Centers of Illinois, an infertility treatment and reproductive endocrinology practice serving the Chicago metro area, was alleged to have transmitted personally identifiable information to Facebook and Google via website tracking tools between September 1, 2020, and December 31, 2024, in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The lawsuit – L.C. v. Fertility Centers of Illinois, PLLC – is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The settlement class consists of individuals who accessed the defendant’s website between September 1, 2020, and December 31, 2024. The settlement provides class members with an equal share of a $375,000 settlement fund, after attorneys’ fees, settlement administration costs, and service awards have been deducted.

The negotiated settlement has received preliminary approval from the court, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for January 13, 2027. The deadline for objection, opting out, and filing a claim is December 3, 2026.

Dental Intelligence Pixel Settlement

Dental Intelligence, Inc., a Pleasant Grove, Utah-based healthcare technology company that provides software solutions to dental practices, and two of its client dental offices were sued over the addition of tracking tools in its LocalMed patient scheduling software, which is alleged to have transmitted sensitive patient data to Alphabet, Inc. (Google).

The lawsuit – Grivetti et al. v. Dental Intelligence, Inc. – is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  The settlement agreement covers all individuals who used the LocalMed Portal to schedule, modify, or reschedule an appointment between March 2022 and June 2025, resulting in data being shared with third parties. Claims may be submitted for an equal share of a $5,750,000 settlement fund, after attorneys’ fees and expenses, settlement administration and notice costs, and service awards for the class representatives have been deducted.

The negotiated settlement has received preliminary approval from the court, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for March 25, 2027. The deadline for objection and opting out is December 28, 2026. The deadline for filing a claim is March 25, 2027.

Missouri Delta Medical Center

Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Missouri, was sued over its use of third-party website technologies such as Google Analytics and Meta Pixel code, which were alleged to have resulted in disclosures of patients’ sensitive information to third parties. The lawsuit – Jane Doe and Janet Doe v. Missouri Delta Medical Center – is pending in the Circuit for the Court of Scott County, Missouri.

The settlement class consists of all living patients of Missouri Delta Medical Center who logged into the patient portal between October 1, 2017, and December 31, 2022. The settlement provides two benefits to class members. A claim may be submitted for a cash payment of $20.00, and all class members will receive a code to sign up for a one-year membership to the CyEx Privacy Shield Pro digital privacy and fraud-protection service.

The settlement has received preliminary approval from the court, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for January 4, 2027. The deadline for opting out is November 25, 2026. The deadline for filing a claim and objecting to the settlement is December 28, 2026.

Author: Steve Alder is the editor-in-chief of The HIPAA Journal. Steve is responsible for editorial policy regarding the topics covered in The HIPAA Journal. He is a specialist on healthcare industry legal and regulatory affairs, and has 10 years of experience writing about HIPAA and other related legal topics. Steve has developed a deep understanding of regulatory issues surrounding the use of information technology in the healthcare industry and has written hundreds of articles on HIPAA-related topics. Steve shapes the editorial policy of The HIPAA Journal, ensuring its comprehensive coverage of critical topics. Steve Alder is considered an authority in the healthcare industry on HIPAA. The HIPAA Journal has evolved into the leading independent authority on HIPAA under Steve’s editorial leadership. Steve manages a team of writers and is responsible for the factual and legal accuracy of all content published on The HIPAA Journal. Steve holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Liverpool. You can connect with Steve via LinkedIn or email via stevealder(at)hipaajournal.com

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