Digital Health & Technology

  • February 20, 2024

    FDA Flags 'Alarming Trend' Of Bad Data In Med Device Testing

    The Food and Drug Administration warned medical device manufacturers Tuesday that it has spotted an uptick in fraudulent data submitted by applicants seeking approval for new devices, an "alarming trend" the agency said could harm patients' access to vital medical equipment.

  • February 20, 2024

    Biology AI Startup Bioptimus Raises $35M Seed Round

    Artificial intelligence startup Bioptimus has raised $35 million to build an AI foundational model focused on biology, the company announced Tuesday.

  • February 20, 2024

    Fed. Circ. Backs Microsoft's PTAB Win Over 3D Patents

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board properly invalidated a pair of 3D medical imaging patents challenged by Microsoft, the Federal Circuit affirmed Tuesday.

  • February 15, 2024

    7th Circ. Rejects Ancestry.com's Arbitration Bid In Privacy Suit

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday upheld a lower court's decision that minors suing Ancestry.com for sharing their genetic testing information can avoid arbitration, saying there was no language in the terms their parents signed designating the children as parties to the agreement.

  • February 15, 2024

    House Committee Blasts VA, Oracle For E-Record Failures

    Lawmakers on Thursday rebuked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Oracle Corp. for inadequate fixes to electronic medical records systems that they say continue to threaten the health and safety of thousands of veterans, who are not being advised of the risk.

  • February 15, 2024

    Med Monitoring Claims In Philips MDL Sent Back For Review

    The judge overseeing multidistrict litigation over Koninklijke Philips NV's recalled breathing machines has declined a special master's recommendation to trim claims seeking medical monitoring for some users, instead sending the case back for a deeper look at which states would allow such claims or whether they required proof of physical injury.

  • February 14, 2024

    Telehealth Advocates Press DEA On Prescription 'Red Flags'

    Several telehealth providers, policy organizations and a technology company joined forces to urge the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to provide "explicit guidance" to pharmacists about filling prescriptions for controlled substances that result from telehealth visits. 

  • February 14, 2024

    Mo. Hospital Faces Action Over Breach Of 500K Patients' Data

    A Missouri hospital has been hit with a proposed class action after allegedly taking five months to notify more than 500,000 patients that their sensitive information had been compromised, according to a complaint filed in Missouri federal court.

  • February 14, 2024

    NYC Sues Facebook, Social Media Cos. Over Teen Addiction

    New York City on Wednesday became the latest government entity to accuse social media giants such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube of purposefully hooking youth on their platforms and driving a mental health care crisis by designing their apps to mimic gambling and tobacco industry tactics in a California state court suit.

  • February 14, 2024

    Software Co. Inks $4M Deal In Privacy Suit Over Breached Info

    Patients suing software company Connexin Software for allegedly failing to safeguard the healthcare and personal identifiable information of more than 200,000 people compromised during a data breach, including that of children, asked a Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday to approve a $4 million class settlement.

  • February 14, 2024

    Dad Sues Hacked Chicago Children's Hospital Again

    A plaintiff already suing Ann Lurie Children's Hospital over alleged negligence in managing its medical records has again targeted the Chicago hospital, claiming it didn't do enough to protect patient data from hackers who have stymied hospital operations for weeks. 

  • February 13, 2024

    LabCorp Sued Over Sharing Sensitive Health Info With Google

    The Laboratory Corporation of America shares sensitive health information and website browsing history with Google without patients' knowledge or consent, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • February 13, 2024

    Billing Cos. Deny Claims By Health Facility In $7M Fraud Case

    Three medical billing companies are fighting a suit by a mental health treatment facility alleging their "incompetence" cost it roughly $7 million in lost revenue and damages, telling a Connecticut federal judge that the facility wrongly terminated their agreement.

  • February 13, 2024

    Texas Appeals Court Grants Medical Coding Co.'s Atty Fee Bid

    A Texas appellate panel has ordered a diagnostics business to pay a medical coding company's attorney fees following a contract dispute between the companies, issuing a judgment Tuesday that also affirmed a trial court's decision to grant the coding company summary judgment.

  • February 13, 2024

    Nava Health To Go Public Via $320M SPAC Merger

    Health clinic chain Nava Health is planning on going public through a merger with blank-check company 99 Acquisition Group in a $320 million deal led by two law firms, the companies announced Tuesday.

  • February 13, 2024

    Convicted NC Doctor Can't Get Recordings From Prosecutors

    A North Carolina federal judge on Tuesday rejected a doctor's attempt to force prosecutors to turn over recorded phone calls with a telemedicine provider, finding that the requested materials weren't relevant and that she was trying to "manufacture" a way to have her fraud conviction overturned.

  • February 12, 2024

    GAO Says Ambiguity Protest Too Late In HHS Comms Deal

    A Virginia-based communications firm lost out on a marketing contract for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after the U.S. Government Accountability Office ruled that it had not provided a required rate agreement in its quote.

  • February 12, 2024

    FDA Seeks Comment On Guidance For Clinical Trial Sponsors

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to publish draft guidance on Tuesday that aims to help clinical trial sponsors determine when they need to bring in a group of data experts to review the information being collected in a clinical trial. 

  • February 09, 2024

    Healthcare Cybersecurity Bill Puts Focus On HHS Oversight

    Members of a U.S. Senate cybersecurity commission introduced a bill Friday that would require federal health officials to conduct regular evaluations of digital security systems and issue biennial reports to Congress.

  • February 09, 2024

    Mental Health App Says Former Exec Can't Lead Rival

    Therapy app company SonderMind Inc. has filed a lawsuit in Denver state court alleging a former chief medical officer is violating a non-compete clause he signed by taking an identical role at rival company Rula Health.

  • February 09, 2024

    HHS Establishes Rule For Release Of Substance Use Records

    Records of a patient's substance use treatment may be more easily shared among healthcare providers under a massive new rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a step the agency said will help coordinate and improve patient care.

  • February 09, 2024

    23andMe Led To Late Father And $28M Verdict, Woman Says

    A Massachusetts woman's successful quest to learn her father's identity through the ancestry-tracking company 23andMe took a surprising turn when she later learned her new flesh-and-blood relatives left her out of her father's wrongful death suit that resulted in a $28 million jury verdict, according to a state court lawsuit.

  • February 08, 2024

    AI Shouldn't Stay In 'Ivory Tower,' Health Experts Tell Sens.

    U.S. Senators on Thursday heard from experts from Stanford University and other institutions on how to ensure that healthcare benefits promised by artificial intelligence, from improved patient outcomes to lower costs, do not remain confined to the "ivory tower" but instead reach underresourced hospitals.

  • February 08, 2024

    Broker Hit With Suit Over Data Breach Affecting 1.5 Million

    A California insurance broker is facing a proposed class action filed Thursday in federal court accusing the company of failing to keep the health and personal information of more than 1.5 million customers safe from exposure in an August cyberattack.

  • February 08, 2024

    Conn. Doc Says Website Must Unmask Fake Online Reviewer

    A Connecticut plastic surgeon asked a state court Wednesday to force the operator of website HealthGrades.com to unmask the person who posted an allegedly fake review saying she was "disfigured" by a recent procedure.

Expert Analysis

  • How EU's New Pharma Incentives May Affect US Cos.

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    Geneviève Michaux and Georgios Symeonidis at King & Spalding examine Europe's recent revisions to its General Pharmaceutical Legislation and the Orphan and Paediatric Legislation, and consider the European Commission's related policy proposals, with an emphasis on pharmaceutical incentives and impacts for U.S. pharmaceutical developers and manufacturers that market products in Europe.

  • HHS Bulletin Raises HIPAA Risks For Online Tracking Vendors

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    A new bulletin from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services clarifies how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act applies to information collected by tracking technology on websites and mobile apps, creating new compliance considerations for online tracking vendors that may be unfamiliar with HIPAA, says Mason Fitch at Hintze Law.

  • Compliance Considerations For Virtual Ketamine Clinics

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    In the wake of investigations into several online prescribers of controlled substances, it is more important than ever that virtual clinics providing off-label ketamine treatment for mental and behavioral health issues consider five key aspects to staying compliant with medical practice and controlled substance regulations, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • State Regulation Compliance Tips For Telehealth Employers

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    Nondisclosure, onboarding and reimbursement challenges are behind many remote work-related telehealth employment lawsuits, but with advance planning and knowledge of the state's requirements where practitioners are located, telehealth employers can avoid costly mistakes from the inception through the end of employment, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • 9 Legal Ethics Considerations In Natural Disaster Preparation

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    Since natural disasters like Hurricane Ian do not relieve lawyers of their ethical obligations to clients, law firms should focus their preparedness efforts on specific areas crucial to continuity of representation and ethics compliance, like business and communications contingency planning, record redundancy and more, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.

  • NY Data Breach Penalty Expands Regulatory Requirements

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    The New York Department of Financial Services’ recent consent order with EyeMed is an aggressive reading of state regulation that arguably expands current requirements, which could increase the complexity of the risk assessment process and may serve as a precedent for other privacy and data security regulators, says Rick Borden at Frankfurt Kurnit.

  • Cybersecurity Expectations Intensify For Medical Device Cos.

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    A recent FBI industry notification and U.S. Food and Drug Administration draft guidance highlight urgent compliance considerations for medical device manufacturers, and contrasts with how federal regulators have previously treated health care players as victims in cybersecurity incidents, say attorneys at Morrison Foerster.

  • Risk Mitigation In Face Of Rising Legal Malpractice Claims

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    As the recent rise in frequency and cost of legal malpractice claims is expected to continue amid global high inflation and economic uncertainty, law firms and insurers would be wise to evaluate key risk areas and consider six steps to minimize exposure, say Nicole Shapiro and Cory Stumpf at Atheria Law.

  • Unpacking FDA's Final Clinical Decision Support Guidance

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    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's latest guidance on clinical decision support software introduces new concepts, questions and ambiguities, and may be challenging to implement in practice, say attorneys at Covington.

  • How Cos. Can Adapt To Global AI Regulation Trends

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    Companies can prepare for the future of artificial intelligence regulation by monitoring proposed and existing regulations both in the U.S. and abroad, tailoring their internal compliance architecture for AI-specific risks, and looking for opportunities to lead on governance issues, says Nicholas Diamond at Jackson Walker.

  • 4 Strategies For Drafting Effective Consumer Breach Notices

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    Businesses should consider key strategies when drafting consumer breach notification letters, such as knowing their audience and what is on their mind, and prioritizing user-friendliness and tone, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • How Contractors Can Avoid Cybersecurity FCA Violations

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    Recent U.S. Department of Justice settlements and remarks underscore heightened focus on cybersecurity liability under the False Claims Act, so government contractors should consider compliance measures such as conducting periodic risk assessments, being responsive to employee concerns, and more, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • EU Regulation Highlights AI Issues For Digital Health Cos.

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    As the regulation of artificial intelligence is high on the agenda for EU and U.K. policymakers and regulators, and likely imminent in the U.S., now is the time for providers in the digital health space to consider how compliance may need to change, and safeguard their position in the market, say Chris Eastham and Olivia Morgan at Fieldfisher.