Digital Health & Technology
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January 30, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Sanctions Miss, Philip Morris Refund
In the second half of January, the North Carolina Business Court tussled with sanctions against a biogas company, heard claims an insurer tried to deliberately embarrass Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and ordered an $11 million tax refund for Philip Morris.
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January 28, 2025
4th Circ. Raises Questions Over Health Data Access Order
A Fourth Circuit panel focused Tuesday on whether an exception to federal law barring electronic health record companies from blocking the exchange of patient data applies to a request from Real Time Medical Systems to access nursing home data from PointClickCare.
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January 28, 2025
New York Eyes Tightened Health Data Privacy Law
New York is set to join a handful of states putting broad new legal safeguards around the collection and sale of sensitive health information, adding to an increasingly complex landscape of health privacy laws.
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January 27, 2025
UnitedHealth Raises Cyberattack Estimate To 190M Individuals
A debilitating cyberattack last year that sabotaged vital billing and prescribing services operated by a UnitedHealth Group unit affected personal information belonging to roughly 190 million individuals, the health insurer disclosed Friday, nearly doubling its previous estimate of the scope of the incident.
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January 24, 2025
Patient Can't Sue Over Clinic's 'Data Incident,' Ill. Justices Say
A medical clinic patient who received a letter stating a "data incident" may have compromised her personal information but appeared not to have led to the information's misuse does not have standing to pursue proposed class claims for damages, the Illinois Supreme Court said Friday.
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January 24, 2025
IVF Patients Want CooperSurgical Embryo Loss Suits Joined
Four product liability lawsuits targeting the maker of recalled culture media for in vitro fertilization should be consolidated and sent to the Connecticut Superior Court's complex litigation docket, the parties have agreed, but defendant CooperSurgical Inc. wants them kept out of Stamford.
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January 22, 2025
Pharma Co. Says Ex-CEO's Alleged Misconduct Is Not Fraud
Artificial intelligence-driven pharmaceutical company Exscientia PLC has asked a New Jersey federal court to toss a suit alleging it is responsible for share price declines following the termination of its CEO after claims emerged he participated in inappropriate relationships with employees, arguing the alleged misconduct is not securities fraud.
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January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year
Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.
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January 17, 2025
Law360 Names Firms Of The Year
Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.
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January 16, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judge Bids Adieu, TikTok Wants Out
The North Carolina Business Court's former chief judge hung up his robes for the last time as the court entered the new year with a ruling that shapes the fate of beset real estate company MV Realty's consumer fraud trial and arguments by TikTok Inc. that its platform being "too engaging" isn't enough for the state to begin an enforcement action.
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January 16, 2025
Henry Ford Patient Drops Data-Scraping Claims
Henry Ford Health has resolved a proposed class action accusing the health system of sharing patients' data with Meta Platforms Inc. and Google Inc. via tracking software embedded in the hospital system's websites, including its patient portal.
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January 15, 2025
Robo Surgery Co. Caused $140M In Lost Profits, Jury Told
Surgical Instrument Service suffered lost profits of up to $140 million because Intuitive Surgical Inc. blocked it from providing a service that extends the life of an Intuitive da Vinci surgery robot component, an economist told jurors Wednesday in a trial over claims Intuitive abuses its market power.
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January 15, 2025
Quest Diagnostics Gets Meta Data-Share Suit Tossed For Now
Quest Diagnostics got allegations that it unlawfully shared patient data with Meta Platforms through ad tracking software dismissed Tuesday, after persuading a New Jersey federal judge to reconsider his earlier ruling that allowed an eavesdropping claim under California's Invasion of Privacy Act to go forward.
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January 15, 2025
Atrium Health Accused Of Giving Patient Data To Google
Atrium Health installed trackers in its mobile app and website to collect patients' data without their consent and then shared that personal information with Google and Facebook for targeted advertising, according to a proposed class action in North Carolina Business Court.
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January 14, 2025
HHS' Strategic Plan For Healthcare AI: 3 Things To Know
A federal strategic plan for the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare calls for setting clear regulations and collaborating with private groups as part of a broad framework to support innovation and protect patients.
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January 13, 2025
California's AG Warns Businesses State Is Not AI 'Wild West'
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned businesses on Monday that the state is not the "wild west" of artificial intelligence and has various laws on the books preventing the technology from being used to discriminate or violate people's rights.
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January 13, 2025
Nvidia's Healthcare Ambitions Grow In New Partnerships
Nvidia announced Monday that it has inked four new healthcare partnerships, a move that comes on the first day of the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco.
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January 10, 2025
Masimo, Apple Fight Over Watch IP In Post-Bench Trial Briefs
Masimo and Apple have submitted dueling briefs to a California federal judge following a trade secret retrial over health sensing technology in Apple's smartwatches, with Masimo maintaining Apple poached its employees to steal its intellectual property and Apple contending Masimo failed for years to "back up their spurious claims" of misappropriation.
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January 10, 2025
Infosys Files Antitrust Counterclaims In Trade Secrets Suit
Healthcare payments software company Infosys has hit back with antitrust counterclaims against Cognizant TriZetto Software Group's Texas federal court suit accusing Infosys of abusing its system access to develop competing services.
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January 10, 2025
Tech Co., Feds Seek Wins In Commercial Item Preference Row
A tech company is asking a federal judge to block the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from proceeding with solicitations that stand to replace so-called batCAVE and Signal software it developed that is already providing the desired functionality.
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January 10, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms Hearing Aid Co.'s Win Over Investor Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Friday handed a win to Eargo Inc. and affirmed the dismissal of a securities class action against the hearing aid company, which alleged that the company and its top brass acted with intent to commit insurance billing fraud.
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January 10, 2025
Social Media Apps Fail To Trim Calif. Mental Health Mass Tort
Meta Platforms, YouTube, Snap and TikTok have lost a bid to cut failure-to-warn claims from consolidated litigation over their social media platforms' alleged harm to youth mental health, with a California state judge ruling that neither the Communications Decency Act nor the First Amendment bar liability based on an app's own features.
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January 10, 2025
1st Circ. Questions Reach Of Anti-Torture Law In Civil Cases
The First Circuit on Friday hinted it may be considering limits on the jurisdiction of the Torture Victims Protection Act, during a hearing where former Justice Stephen Breyer recalled concerns he first raised on the Supreme Court that an overly broad reading could pave the way for other nations to arrest Americans for incidents on U.S. soil.
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January 09, 2025
'Stunned': Judge Rips Atty For Violating Antitrust Trial Order
A California federal judge overseeing an antitrust jury trial over claims that Intuitive Surgical was a monopolist that abused its power by blocking hospitals from using a service to extend the life of a component related to its surgical-robot arms said Thursday she was "stunned" when plaintiff Surgical Instrument Service showed a video that violated a pretrial order.
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January 09, 2025
Cancer Org Fails To Get Rival's TM Counterclaims Tossed
A Georgia federal judge said Thursday that the Glioblastoma Foundation Inc. can't yet escape a series of counterclaims filed against it by a rival nonprofit amid a trademark spat, ruling that its defenses in a dismissal bid largely relied on factual issues about whether the rival fraudulently obtained the marks at issue.
Remote Access To Anti-Addiction Meds Unclear Under Trump
Depending on what the Trump administration does next with a telehealth rule finalized in the last days of the Biden administration, remote access to a lifesaving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder could either be expanded or constricted.
Experts See Hope, Flaws In FDA's Oxygen Test Bias Guidance
Enthusiasm among health and legal experts about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new draft guidance on skin-tone bias in blood oxygen meters is being tempered, with some suggesting that more action, including in the courts, might be needed to change how the devices are tested and manufactured.
How Calif. Became 1st State To Ban AI Healthcare Denials
Amid growing concerns about healthcare insurance claims and artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind California law requires a qualified human healthcare provider – not algorithms – make critical calls based on medical necessity. Similar legislation is anticipated in other states.
Expert Analysis
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2024 Was A Significant Year For HIPAA Compliance
The Office of Civil Rights' high level of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act activity in 2024 and press releases about its specific focus on certain cybersecurity issues make it abundantly clear that the OCR is not going to tolerate widespread compliance complacency, says Nathan Kottkamp at Williams Mullen.
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Liability Risk For AI In Medical Devices Demands Greater Care
As regulators push for legal reform surrounding artificial intelligence and cases implicating product liability for AI in medical technology continue to rise, manufacturers must adapt and implement new strategies to accommodate evolving risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025
This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Health Tech Regulatory Trends To Watch In 2025
With an upcoming change in administration and the release of some long-awaited rules, the healthcare industry should prepare for shifting trends, including a growing focus on health data and interest in technology-enabled delivery of healthcare, say attorneys at Orrick.
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Balancing Health Tech Advances And Clinical Responsibility
To maintain their clinical responsibilities and mitigate potential legal risk, health professionals should incorporate the benefits of new medical technology powered by artificial intelligence while addressing its risks and limitations, says Kathleen Fisher Enyeart at Lathrop GPM.
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Navigating Decentralized Clinical Trials With FDA's Guidance
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recently finalized guidance on conducting decentralized clinical trials, while not legally binding, can serve as a road map for sponsors, investigators and others to ensure trial integrity and participant safety, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.
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What To Expect Next From Federal Health Tech Regulation
Healthcare organizations should pay close attention to federal health information technology regulators' recent guidance concerning barriers to accessing electronic health information, which signals that more enforcement in this area is likely forthcoming, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Defending AI, Machine Learning Patents In Life Sciences
Ten years after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Alice v. CLS Bank, artificial intelligence and machine learning technology remain at risk for Alice challenges, but reviewing recent cases can help life sciences companies avoid common pitfalls and successfully defend their patents, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Takeaways From Texas AG's Novel AI Health Settlement
The Texas attorney general's recent action against a health tech company marks another step in rapidly proliferating enforcement against artificial intelligence and privacy issues across multiple states, and highlights important risk mitigation considerations for health companies that implement AI systems, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Proposed Legislation May Crack Down On Online Drug Ads
A bill recently proposed in Congress could serve as a sea change in how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates drug-related speech, with significant trickle-down effects on various corners of not only the drug industry but also on consumers and providers themselves, say Dominick DiSabatino and Arushi Pandya at Sheppard Mullin.
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Navigating Restrictions Following Biotech Bill House Passage
Ahead of the BIOSECURE Act’s potential enactment, companies that obtain equipment from certain Chinese biotechnology companies should consider whether the act would restrict their ability to enter into contracts with the U.S. government and what steps they might take in response, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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What's In Colorado's 1st-Of-Its-Kind Neural Privacy Law
Colorado recently became the first U.S. state to directly regulate neurotechnology with new legislation amending the Colorado Privacy Act to specifically protect biological and neural data, offering an example of how lawmakers can tackle the perceived regulation gaps in this area, say attorneys at Goodwin.
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.