Atrium Health is facing a federal lawsuit that claims the health system violated patient privacy by sharing sensitive information with Facebook and Google for the purpose of targeted advertising.
In the civil action, filed April 10 in North Carolina, two unidentified plaintiffs—one from North Carolina and another from Michigan—allege the Atrium Health website utilized Meta’s Pixel application, a background code that shares data with advertisers. Pixel not only gathers browsing data, such as IP addresses, but it can also access typed-in form details, including the names of users and their contact information.
The Charlotte Observer was the first to report the news. Their coverage includes screenshots contained in the lawsuit that reportedly show the health system's website actively using Pixel code. Atrium Health allegedly removed the code “following a wave of negative press and litigation against other healthcare companies for the same unlawful activities,” the court filings read.
The lawsuit claims the use of Pixel was first observed in June 2022, after which time the plaintiffs said they began seeing unsolicited emails and customized ads on websites related to medical issues they disclosed to Atrium Health.
Atrium Health’s website does not currently disclose the use of Pixel, but the health system says it uses “cookies and similar technology” that track the online activity of patients and recommend services and products, for the purpose of understanding “the effectiveness of our content and marketing efforts.”
“Our advertisers may display targeted advertisements when you visit third party websites and social networks based on your previous interactions with our Sites as tracked by cookies and similar technologies,” Atrium Health’s website reads.
The plaintiffs claim they were tricked before logging into the secure patient portal on the site. A hearing date for the lawsuit—which may yet be dismissed or settled out of court—has yet to be set. Atrium Health has yet to officially respond to the claims through its own court filing.
Atrium Health is based in North Carolina, and it operates 40 hospitals and 1,400 care locations across four states. The health system is part of Advocate Health, a large nonprofit health system that operates nationwide.
HealthExec reached out to Atrium Health for comment and was provided the following statement:
"At Atrium Health, privacy is critically important to us, and we have stringent and effective safeguards in place. No protected health information is shared with common consumer platforms, such as Facebook. Atrium Health patients are directed to secure, confidential portals where information is shared only with their care teams. We will reserve additional comment on this lawsuit for those we submit to the court, however, it’s important to note that a nearly identical case was previously filed against Atrium Health. The plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew their case after reviewing the facts about Atrium Health’s patient health portal safeguards in our request for the court to dismiss the case. Ultimately, they recognized that their case was unlikely to succeed."
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Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.