Health Privacy

On December 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), through the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”), issued a proposed rule to implement statutory amendments enacted by Section 3221 of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic

Continue Reading HHS Proposes Changes to More Closely Align Part 2 and HIPAA

On June 23, 2022, the German Federal Office for Information Security (“Office”) published technical guidelines on security requirements for healthcare apps, including mobile apps, web apps, and background systems.  Although the technical guidelines are aimed at healthcare app developers, they contain useful guidance for developers of any app

Continue Reading German Federal Office for Information Security Publishes Security Requirements for Healthcare Apps

On Wednesday, October 6th, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 41, the Genetic Information Privacy Act, which expands genetic privacy protections for consumers in California, including those interacting with direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) genetic testing companies.  In a recent Covington Digital Health blog post, our colleagues discussed SB 41 and the growing
Continue Reading California Governor Signs Legislation to Expand Genetic Privacy Protections After Last Year’s Veto

Last Friday, October 1, the Protecting DNA Privacy Act (HB 833), a new genetic privacy law, went into effect in the state of Florida establishing four new crimes related to the unlawful use of another person’s DNA.  While the criminal penalties in HB 833 are notable, Florida is
Continue Reading Newly Effective Florida Law Imposing Criminal Sanctions Adds to Developing Nationwide Patchwork of State Genetic Privacy Laws

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced this month a proposed settlement against Flo Health, Inc. (“Flo”), the developer of popular menstrual cycle and fertility-tracking application (the “Flo App”), resolving allegations that “the company shared the health information of users with outside data analytics providers after promising that such information would be kept private.”  The proposed settlement requires Flo, among other things, to obtain review by an “independent third-party professional” of its privacy practices, obtain users’ consent before sharing their health information, alert users whose data was disclosed, and require third-parties that previously received that data to destroy it.
Continue Reading FTC Reaches Settlement with Digital Health App, Requires First Notice of Privacy Action

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (“AG”) announced in September a settlement against Glow, Inc., resolving allegations that the fertility app had “expose[d] millions of women’s personal and medical information.”  In the complaint, the AG alleged violations of certain state consumer protection and privacy laws, stemming from privacy and security
Continue Reading California AG Settlement Suggests Privacy and Security Practices of Digital Health Apps May Provide Fertile Ground for Enforcement Activity

Throughout September, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), announced eight different settlements to resolve a variety of alleged violations of the Privacy and Security Rules promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”).  Notably, three settlements stem from data breaches
Continue Reading HHS Announces Multiple HIPAA Settlements Related to Data Breaches and the Right of Access Initiative

In a new post on the Covington Inside Privacy blog, our colleagues discuss the passage of California’s AB 713, a bill that creates a new healthcare-related exemption under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) for certain information that has been deidentified in accordance with the Health Insurance
Continue Reading California Legislature Adopts CCPA Exemption for Information Deidentified in Accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule

Our colleagues at the Inside Privacy blog have summarized a proposed bill in California (the Genetic Information Privacy Act) that would impose certain privacy obligations on direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies that go beyond the California Consumer Privacy Act.  This summary may be of interest to entities that process genetic data
Continue Reading California Legislature Advances Privacy Legislation

On 3 July 2020, the German parliament passed a draft bill (German language) for patient data protection and for more digitalisation in the German healthcare system (Patientendaten-Schutz-Gesetz). The draft bill is currently in the legislative procedure and is expected to enter into force in autumn 2020.

One of
Continue Reading Germany Prepares New Law for Patient Data Protection and Increased Digitalisation in Healthcare and for “Data Donations” for Research Purposes