ARTICLE · 10 NOVEMBER 2023

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Lawsuit Seeks To Block OCR HIPAA Guidance On Online Tracking Tools

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A December 2022 bulletin issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has received widespread criticism for...

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Shannon Britton Hartsfield

Mark S. Melodia

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Highlights

A December 2022 bulletin issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has received widespread criticism for its stance on the use of online tracking technologies by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-covered entities and business associates.
Vocal critics include the American Hospital Association, which has teamed with the Texas Hospital Association, Texas Health Resources and United Regional Health Care System to bring suit against the HHS secretary and OCR director.
Among other challenges, the plaintiffs claim that the bulletin improperly imposes HIPAA restrictions on all such technologies, even when the only information that is passed to a third party is the IP address of the browser's computer, which may have nothing to do with a patient.

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