Federal Court Strikes Down HHS Rule on Website Tracking Technologies… To an Extent
Lexology July 8, 2024
On June 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated a portion of guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the use of online tracking technologies. This decision is beneficial to healthcare providers and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which use third-party tracking tools on their public-facing websites, but such entities should be cautious to not read the case too broadly.
Background
In December 2022, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a bulletin addressing the use of online tracking technologies by HIPAA-covered entities. This guidance took an expansive view of what constitutes individually identifiable health information (IIHI) under HIPAA, suggesting that...