Novant Health, a North Carolina healthcare system, has reached a settlement of $6.6 million to resolve a consolidated class-action lawsuit related to its use of tracking tools on its websites and patient portals. The lawsuit, filed in November 2022, centered on Novant Health’s utilization of Meta pixel internet trackers between May 1, 2020, and Aug. 12, 2022. The trackers allegedly sent sensitive patient information to third parties without proper consent, leading to a HIPAA breach affecting more than 1.36 million individuals.
The controversy around Novant Health’s use of online trackers intensified after the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling on Roe v. Wade, with concerns about potential data breaches related to sensitive healthcare information. Novant Health reported the use of trackers to federal regulators on Aug. 14, 2022. The proposed settlement, while not an admission of wrongdoing according to Novant Health, involves a payment of $6.6 million. A court hearing for final approval is scheduled for June 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
