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Advocate Aurora class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Alistair Stewart filed a class action lawsuit against Advocate Aurora Health Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook).
- Why: Advocate Aurora allegedly shared confidential data with Facebook through pieces of code called Meta Pixels embedded on its websites and apps.
- Where: The Advocate Aurora class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court.
Advocate Aurora Health Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook) have been hit with a medical privacy class action lawsuit over allegations the healthcare provider shares private patient health information (PHI) with Facebook without patients’ knowledge or consent.
Plaintiff Alistair Stewart says healthcare providers like Advocate Aurora have a fiduciary duty under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and other federal regulations to keep patient information confidential unless the patient authorizes the provider to share the data.
Advocate Aurora class action says healthcare provider failed to obtain patient consent
Advocate Aurora reportedly encourages its patients to utilize the secure LiveWell portal to communicate with doctors, access test results, schedule appointments, request prescription refills and view account details.
“Whenever a patient uses Advocate’s websites and applications, including its LiveWell portal, Advocate and Facebook intercept, contemporaneously cause transmission of and use personally identifiable patient information and PHI without patients’ knowledge, consent or authorization,” the Advocate Aurora class action lawsuit states.
Stewart alleges Advocate Aurora collects and shares the PHI through a snippet of programming code called a “Meta Pixel.” Once the Meta Pixel is installed on a webpage or mobile app, it surreptitiously tracks users as they use a website or app and allegedly sends information about their usage to Facebook, according to the class action lawsuit.
Advocate Aurora allegedly installed the Meta Pixel “because it benefits financially from the targeted advertising and information services that stem from the use of the Pixel,” Stewart claims.
Stewart says Facebook “requires” businesses that use the Meta Pixel to have the legal right to collect, use and share data, but the social media giant allegedly stops short of verifying that businesses have obtained consent to share such data.
The class action notes the healthcare provider posted a “Notice of Data Breach” on its website Oct. 20. The notice explained that certain PHI was disclosed to specific vendors because of pixels on Advocate Aurora’s websites or apps.
Information that may have been disclosed includes patient IP addresses, appointment information, patients’ proximity to Advocate Aurora locations and other PHI, Stewart alleges.
The class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of the Electronic Communications Act and Stored Communications Act, as well as for breach of contract, breach of the implied duty of confidentiality and invasion of privacy.
Last month, a consumer filed another Advocate Aurora class action lawsuit over the data breach.
Are you an Advocate Aurora patient? Tell us what you think of the Advocate Aurora class action in the comments!
Stewart is represented by Ryan F. Stephan, James B. Zouras, Teresa M. Becvar and Mohammed A. Rathur of Stephan Zouras LLP.
The Advocate Aurora class action lawsuit is Alistair Stewart v. Advocate Aurora Health Inc., et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-05964, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
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3 thoughts onAdvocate Aurora class action claims healthcare provider shares data with Facebook
I have worked in the medical field all my life and all we hear is HIPA, HIPA, HIPA!!! We all know about HIPA and there is no excuse for this company to violate it . I just used the Live Well app today. I’m shocked to hear Meta is looking over my shoulder.
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