Digital Health & Technology
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February 28, 2024
NuVasive Can Pierce Co. To Collect From Ex-Rep, Judge Says
NuVasive Inc. can pierce the corporate veil to collect a $617,000-plus arbitration judgment it won against a company operated by one of its former sales representatives who improperly cut ties with the medical device company and violated his noncompete agreement, a Boston federal judge has ruled.
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February 27, 2024
Last-Minute Settlement Stops 2nd Catheter Trial In Del.
A second legal fight over patents that cover a type of external catheter for women will not be going before a jury in Wilmington after the two feuding rivals agreed on Tuesday to settle the dispute.
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February 27, 2024
10th Circ. Backs FDA E-Cigarettes Marketing Denial
The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's denials of two companies' applications to market flavored e-cigarettes, rejecting their argument that the agency secretly planned to reject any applications without long-term studies.
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February 27, 2024
Survey Finds Just 4 in 10 Healthcare Orgs. Review AI Guidance
Only 40% of healthcare professionals surveyed by the Berkeley Research Group say their organizations are reviewing or plan to review regulatory guidance on artificial intelligence, even as they expect rapid growth in AI deployment over the next three years, according to a report released Tuesday.
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February 26, 2024
NC Health Data Breach Class Deal Gets Preliminary OK
A North Carolina state judge has preliminarily approved a settlement resolving a class action against an orthopedic practice over a data breach that compromised sensitive personal information and medical records of current and former patients.
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February 26, 2024
UnitedHealth Unit Hits 6th Day Of IT Outage After Cyberattack
A UnitedHealth Group unit on Monday entered its sixth day of dealing with a cyberattack that breached its information technology systems and services spanning pharmacy claims billing, medical records and payor communications software.
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February 26, 2024
NC Hospital's Weak Data Security Led To Breach, Suit Says
A patient filed a proposed class action in North Carolina's business court alleging a hospital system's inadequate data security resulted in a breach that allowed hackers to access private personal and health information.
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February 23, 2024
Seattle Hospital Gets Facebook Browser Tracking Suit Tossed
A Washington state judge sided with Seattle Children's Hospital on Friday, throwing out a proposed class action accusing the healthcare provider of privacy law violations and agreeing the group of parents hadn't shown how the use of a browser tracking tool on its website disclosed confidential patient information to Facebook.
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February 23, 2024
Chamber's Report Bemoans Biden's March-In Idea For Drug IP
The most powerful business lobbying group in the U.S. said that although the country ranked at the top of its annual International IP Index, the Biden administration's efforts to potentially use patent laws to reduce the price of pharmaceuticals would jeopardize its place down the line.
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February 23, 2024
Fla. Doctor Says T-Mobile Let Hacker Steal Her SIM Card
A Tampa, Florida, doctor has sued T-Mobile for allegedly failing to stop a "SIM swap" hacker from transferring her personal phone account and then doing little to address the identity theft that followed, which involved the hacker trying to steal thousands from her retirement account and using her medical credentials to write more than 700 fraudulent prescriptions.
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February 23, 2024
Healthcare AI Startup Abridge Raises $150M
AI clinical documentation company Abridge said on Friday that it had raised a $150 million series C round to build on its existing product lines and accelerate research and development.
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February 22, 2024
HHS' Civil Rights Office Reaches 2nd-Ever Ransomware Deal
The Department of Health and Human Services has reached a deal with a Maryland-based behavioral health practice over a ransomware attack that affected the protected health information of nearly 15,000 individuals.
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February 22, 2024
HHS Warning to Congress: Health Data Breaches Surging
The number of large data breaches exposing protected health information more than doubled in a recent five-year period, reaching 626 incidents in 2022 that affected nearly 42 million people, federal officials said Thursday.
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February 22, 2024
Mich. Judge OKs $52M Deal For Mayo Foundation Subscribers
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday gave the initial approval to a $52 million deal for subscribers to the Mayo Foundation's health magazine who allege the publisher shared their private information without consent.
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February 21, 2024
Del. Suit Accuses Healthcare Data Co. Exec Of Insider Trading
A stockholder launched a derivative lawsuit late Wednesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging the founder of a behavioral healthcare data firm traded company shares using insider information and that nearly a dozen current and former directors and officers provided false and misleading disclosures about the business.
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February 21, 2024
Former Exec Convicted Of Medtronic Insider Trading Scheme
A Minneapolis man who tipped off a friend about his employer's secret negotiations on a $1.6 billion acquisition deal with medical device company Medtronic has been convicted of securities fraud and conspiring to commit insider trading, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office has announced.
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February 21, 2024
3rd Circ. Kicks Data Privacy Suit Against Penn To State Court
A proposed class action alleging that the University of Pennsylvania violated the state's privacy law must head back to state court, the Third Circuit ruled Wednesday, rejecting arguments that the university health system acted as a federal officer by operating an online patient portal.
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February 20, 2024
Ala. Justices Deem Frozen Embryos Children Under State Law
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos count as children in a first-of-its-kind decision bemoaned by advocates and a dissenting judge as potentially ruinous for in vitro fertilization services in the state.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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How Contractors Can Avoid Cybersecurity FCA Violations
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.
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EU Regulation Highlights AI Issues For Digital Health Cos.
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.
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What DOJ Enforcement Shift Means For Life Sciences Cos.
Though monitoring life science company compliance has historically been the domain of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recent trends suggest that the U.S. Department of Justice may be assuming a primary role going forward, raising interesting questions for the industry, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Ransomware Payment Lessons Amid DOJ Recovery Success
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent successes clawing back ransom payments made to hacking groups provide companies an additional factor to consider when deciding whether to engage with law enforcement after experiencing a breach, whether to pay a ransom demand, and whether to try to recover the payment, says Tyler Bridegan at Wiley.
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What's Next For DOJ's COVID Enforcement In Health Care
As we enter the end of the third year of the pandemic, a few fraud-related trends and risks have emerged, necessitating important steps that health care and life sciences companies should take in light of continuing U.S. Department of Justice scrutiny, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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How To Minimize Risk When Launching Smart Medical Devices
Prior to launching a smart medical device, there are several critical steps that companies can take in order to protect their intellectual property, get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and ensure the safety of their data, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Health Issues To Watch In Inflation Act, Other Policy Initiatives
The newly signed Inflation Reduction Act includes a number of significant drug pricing reforms, and the future holds a wider array of health issues that may be addressed in pending legislation when Congress returns in September, says Miranda Franco at Holland & Knight.
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DOJ Filing Reawakens Fraud-On-The-FDA Theory Of Liability
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent statement of interest in U.S. ex rel. Crocano v. Trividia Health before a Florida federal court represents a substantial attempt to revive a False Claims Act liability theory involving misstatements to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, potentially leading to increased scrutiny of medical products, say attorneys at Duane Morris.
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Digital Health Cos. Should Expect More Scrutiny Amid Growth
As the digital health market continues to flourish, the privacy and security of patient data has become a focus of legislative, regulatory and interest group action, and developers should be motivated to reassure both regulators and consumers that users' data is adequately protected, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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Anti-Kickback Circuit Split Holds Implications For Defendants
The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in U.S. v. D.S. Medical represents a significant step toward holding plaintiffs to more exacting burdens of proof in Anti-Kickback Statute False Claims Act suits, and the outcome of the resulting circuit split could decrease estimated damages for defendants, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Post-Dobbs HHS Guidance Brings Privacy Considerations
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and ensuing guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will create new privacy compliance issues for health care providers and other companies collecting personal information concerning the use of reproductive health services, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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HHS Fraud Alert Is A Major Warning To Telehealth Industry
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently issued a rare fraud alert, indicating potential changes in telemedicine enforcement, and suggesting that digital health entities are likely to face subpoenas, civil investigative demands and other inquiries, say attorneys at Hooper Lundy.
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FDA Medical Device Cyber Guidance Protects Patients, Cos.
By carefully following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations on cybersecurity for medical devices — including its latest guidance on premarket submissions — and anticipating, tracking and fixing vulnerabilities, manufacturers can reduce risks to patients, as well as their own risks of product liability and data breach claims, say attorneys at Dechert.