Digital Health & Technology

  • July 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Ruling Places FCC Rural Telehealth Funding In Peril

    From Alaska to Arkansas, thousands of rural healthcare clinics rely on internet subsidies from the Federal Communications Commission to provide telehealth services to far-flung or low-income patients. A Fifth Circuit ruling threatens to disrupt services for some living outside urban centers or in healthcare "deserts."

  • July 30, 2024

    Litigator Rejoins Faegre Drinker From Medical Device Co.

    Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP's newest lateral hire is stepping back into private practice after two years as associate general counsel for orthopedic implant company Exactech, and should be a familiar face around the firm's Indianapolis office.

  • July 29, 2024

    Judge Blocks Medical Records Co.'s Anti-Bot Captchas

    A Maryland federal judge on Monday enjoined electronic medical records company PointClickCare from blocking nursing home analytics company Real Time Medical Systems from accessing patient data with automated bots, saying PCC's firewall wasn't justified by concerns over security or system speed.

  • July 29, 2024

    Watchdog Says Zoom Call Doesn't Warrant Nixing $25.3M Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has refused to undo a $25.3 million contract to support the National Institutes of Health, unconvinced that the agency had revealed a bidder's proprietary information during a Zoom call with the eventual contract winner.

  • July 29, 2024

    Ga. Health Providers Hit With Data Breach Class Action

    Two Southeastern healthcare providers have been hit with a putative class action stemming from a 2023 cyberattack that allegedly compromised the information of more than 32,000 people, arguing the providers were asleep at the wheel as their patients' data was pilfered.

  • July 26, 2024

    Healthcare Software Co. Must Face Trimmed Data Hack Suit

    NextGen Healthcare will face a slimmed-down version of a proposed class action filed against it by customers who say their data was exposed in a 2023 data hack after a Georgia federal judge on Thursday tossed several state data privacy and consumer protection claims levied against the software company.

  • July 26, 2024

    Data Co. Told To Turn Over Contracts In Kochava Case

    A D.C. federal judge plans to order TargetSmart to turn over supplier contracts to the Federal Trade Commission in the agency's case against TargetSmart client Kochava on Friday, after TargetSmart's attorney said she was "99% sure that there was no due diligence done by Kochava" regarding the data's provenance.

  • July 23, 2024

    Texas Legal Services Biz Escapes Most Data Breach Claims

    A Texas federal judge has trimmed most claims in a proposed class action over a legal services company's data breach, leaving a negligence claim lodged by one plaintiff who alleges he was a victim of identity theft due to the breach.

  • July 23, 2024

    Clinic Gets NC Biz Court's Final OK For Hacking Suit Deal

    A North Carolina Business Court judge granted final approval to a class action settlement between a physician-owned orthopedic practice and the current and former patients who took it to court over a data breach that exposed their private information, including their medical records.

  • July 22, 2024

    NC Hospital, Patients Nearing Deal In Hacking Suit

    Columbus Regional Healthcare System and the patients who accused it of failing to properly protect their personal information at its North Carolina hospital have reached a tentative settlement agreement, according to a new notice asking the Tar Heel State's business court to pause proceedings while they hash it out.

  • July 17, 2024

    Teladoc Hit With Another Investor Suit Over BetterHelp Woes

    The telehealth company that owns online counseling platform BetterHelp has been slapped with a second investor suit accusing it of not being honest with investors about how profitable the mental health service actually was.

  • July 16, 2024

    Ex-FDA Head Calls For Congressional Action On Medical AI

    A former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has some unexpected advice for policymakers wrestling with how to regulate artificial intelligence in healthcare: Take a look at the Apple Watch.

  • July 16, 2024

    Rural Providers Say Stalled Bill Threatens Telehealth Progress

    With the clock running out on telehealth rules implemented during an unprecedented global health crisis, small-town clinics and rural healthcare providers are increasingly uncertain about the future for Medicare beneficiaries in medically underserved areas.

  • July 16, 2024

    Feds Say Drug Monitoring Co. Founder Pulled $5M Scam

    The founder of a patient monitoring company pitched as an effort to help people recovering from addictions to avoid relapsing during medical treatment duped around 50 investors into putting $5 million into his firm, a now-unsealed criminal indictment alleges in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • July 16, 2024

    The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know

    Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.

  • July 16, 2024

    These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships

    Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.

  • July 12, 2024

    Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 12, 2024

    Widower Drops Suit Over Surgical Robot-Related Death

    A widower agreed Thursday to drop his suit against Intuitive Surgical Inc. over an alleged defect in its da Vinci surgical robots that allowed electricity to arc during his wife's surgery, burning her small intestine and leading to her death.

  • July 12, 2024

    Chancery Approves $19.5M Convey-TPG Settlement

    Former shareholders of Convey Health Solutions Inc. won Delaware Chancery Court approval Friday of a $19.5 million cash settlement to resolve a class challenge to the healthcare technology company's $1.1 billion take-private acquisition by TPG Inc., with $3.88 million going to class attorneys after expenses.

  • July 10, 2024

    Santa Clara Hospital Can't Fully Shake Online Tracking Suit

    A California federal judge has refused to toss a proposed class action accusing Santa Clara Valley Medical Center of unlawfully sharing sensitive data with Meta and Google through online tracking tools embedded in its website and patient portal, rejecting the contention that the plaintiff had consented to these disclosures by agreeing to policies required to use the services. 

  • July 09, 2024

    Glocal Says UpHealth Coerced Acquisition In Ch. 11 Suit

    Indian healthcare network Glocal said its majority owner, bankrupt telemedicine tech company UpHealth, lied about business delays and exaggerated its finances as leverage in a 2020 acquisition, alleging in a Delaware bankruptcy court lawsuit that UpHealth and its executives eroded $200 million in value and failed to uphold their end of a share purchase agreement.

  • July 08, 2024

    Patient Says Health System Shares Data With Meta, Google

    Henry Ford Health in Michigan was hit with a proposed class action Friday alleging that it shares patients' private health information with third parties such as Meta and Google by allowing the companies to have tracking software embedded in its website, including its patient portal, where sensitive health information is uploaded.

  • July 05, 2024

    UpHealth Says $110M Glocal Award Can Be Enforced

    Bankrupt medical tech company UpHealth has urged an Illinois court to enforce a $110 million arbitral award against Indian digital healthcare services platform Glocal Healthcare in a bitter feud over an ill-fated merger, saying the court should reject Glocal's argument that the tribunal exceeded its powers.

  • July 05, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Remand Of Cedars-Sinai Patient Data Suits

    The Ninth Circuit held Friday that a trio of proposed class actions accusing Cedars-Sinai of improperly sharing patients' personal information with tech companies indeed belong in California state court, agreeing with a lower court that the health provider wasn't acting at the direction of the federal government.

  • July 05, 2024

    GAO Approves Of Rival Co.'s Use Of Same Subcontractor

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected a protest over a Defense Health Agency healthcare delivery modernization task order, saying Peraton Inc. was allowed to use the same subcontractor as rival ViiMed after the DHA ended ViiMed's similar deal.

Expert Analysis

  • DOJ's Biopharma Settlement Raises Anti-Kickback Questions

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    In the aftermath of the U.S. Department of Justice's settlement with Ultragenyx over genetic testing programs, it may be prudent to reevaluate genetic tests through the lens of the Anti-Kickback Statute and reconsider whether it is proper for free testing programs to be treated like patient assistance programs, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.

  • Uncharted Waters Ahead For FCA Litigation In 2024

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    Following a year of significant court decisions, settlements, recoveries and proposed amendments, 2024 promises to be a lively year for False Claims Act actions and litigation, and one that will hopefully provide more clarity as FCA jurisprudence evolves, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Healthcare Industry Must Prepare For Greater AI Regulation

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    Healthcare entities that use even basic machine-based systems should pay close attention to a recent executive order and a proposed bill, both of which focus on artificial intelligence safety and security, and signal the government's intent to establish a regulatory framework for AI-enabled technology, says Kristen Petry at Spencer Fane.

  • What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement

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    Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.

  • Digging Into The Debate On FDA's Proposed Lab Test Rule

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    A proposed 10-word amendment from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration represents a sea change in device regulation as it would summarily end decades of FDA enforcement discretion for laboratory developed tests, and the public comments offer some insight into the future of this long-running saga, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • AI Executive Order's Life Science, Healthcare Industry Effects

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    The recent White House executive order to manage risks associated with artificial intelligence includes provisions specific to healthcare and life sciences that merit special attention, including transparency, human oversight of AI output, and real world performance monitoring, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • 5 Most Notable Class Action Standing Cases Of 2023

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    Key appellate class action decisions this past year continued the trend of a more demanding approach to the threshold issue of standing during each phase of litigation, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • How SEC And NY Cyber Reporting Rules Affect Key Industries

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    The new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York State Department of Financial Services cybersecurity disclosure requirements, and their competing obligations, reveal the increasing complexity for organizations evaluating and reacting to cybersecurity incidents — particularly those in the healthcare and financial services industries, say attorneys at Manatt.

  • In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

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    Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.

  • 5 Steps For Healthcare Companies After Biden's AI Order

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    Rather than simply monitoring for the issuance of agency guidelines on artificial intelligence in the wake of President Joe Biden's October executive order, health and life sciences companies should take action now and begin building internal operational and technical infrastructures designed to govern the use of AI, says Joy Sharp at Faegre Drinker.

  • The Basics Of Law Firm Cyber Liability Insurance Applications

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    Cyber liability insurance has become a common consideration for law firms as cyber threats have escalated, but these insurance forms can be quite complicated given the nature of the industry and associated risks, so simply filling out the form won't necessarily result in an ideal policy for your firm, says Kevin Haight at WAMS.

  • AI Brings New Insurance Concerns For Healthcare Providers

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    As the healthcare industry increasingly invests in medical artificial intelligence tools, it confronts a variety of liability risks that necessitate careful consideration and potential recalibration of providers' insurance programs, say Marialuisa Gallozzi and Megan Mumford Myers at Covington.

  • Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.