Digital Health & Technology
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January 09, 2025
'Stunned': Judge Rips Atty For Violating Antitrust Trial Order
A California federal judge overseeing an antitrust jury trial over claims that Intuitive Surgical was a monopolist that abused its power by blocking hospitals from using a service to extend the life of a component related to its surgical-robot arms said Thursday she was "stunned" when plaintiff Surgical Instrument Service showed a video that violated a pretrial order.
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January 09, 2025
Cancer Org Fails To Get Rival's TM Counterclaims Tossed
A Georgia federal judge said Thursday that the Glioblastoma Foundation Inc. can't yet escape a series of counterclaims filed against it by a rival nonprofit amid a trademark spat, ruling that its defenses in a dismissal bid largely relied on factual issues about whether the rival fraudulently obtained the marks at issue.
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January 09, 2025
VITAS Must Face Wiretap Suit Over Customer Service Calls
A California federal judge declined to toss a putative class action alleging VITAS Healthcare violated wiretapping laws by helping a third-party software developer eavesdrop on calls with VITAS' customers, noting Wednesday the third party was capable of using the data derived from the calls for its own purposes.
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January 08, 2025
Intuitive Killed Biz For Reusing Robo-Surgery Arms, Jury Told
The president of a family-owned medical instrument repair business suing biotechnology company Intuitive Surgical on antitrust claims told a California federal jury Wednesday that his company saw a "huge opportunity" in providing a service that extended the life of Intuitive's surgical robot arms, but hospitals balked after Intuitive sent threatening letters.
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January 08, 2025
Patent Board Knocks Out Most Of Apple Patent
Two rulings out of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board have wiped out several claims in a patent Apple is asserting against a medical software company that was initially first to assert patents against Apple over health-related programming in the Apple Watch.
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January 08, 2025
Telligen's TM Suit Against IT Co. Can Move Forward
A California federal judge is letting a trademark lawsuit from health data company Telligen proceed against information technology company Telligens, ruling that he was not yet convinced that the suit was filed 10 years too late.
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January 08, 2025
Biotech Co.'s Facility Failures Lost Investors Money, Suit Says
The executives and directors of biotechnology company Humacyte Inc. have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in North Carolina federal court alleging the company concealed that its manufacturing facility failed to comply with certain quality assurance practices, leading to delayed regulatory review for its product candidate.
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January 07, 2025
Robo Surgery Co. Gets Billions From Selling Parts, Jury Told
Surgical Instrument Service accused Intuitive Surgical at the start of a federal trial Tuesday of being a monopolist making billions of dollars by blocking hospitals from extending the life of reusable surgical-robot components, while Intuitive blasted the medical instrument repair company for "trying to misuse antitrust laws to enrich itself."
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January 07, 2025
HHS Fines Mass. Health Firm $80K Over Ransomware Attack
Elgon Information Systems, which provides digital medical record and billing support services, will pay $80,000 over alleged healthcare data protection rule violations following a ransomware attack on its systems in March 2023 that impacted roughly 31,248 customers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.
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January 07, 2025
HIPAA Cyber Rule Shake-Up Arrives On Eve Of Trump's Return
A massive cybersecurity rule change proposed this week would require healthcare providers and insurers to protect patient data with multifactor authentication and other safeguards. Attorneys are watching to see if the Trump administration changes course.
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January 06, 2025
Labcorp Loses Appeal Of Gene-Testing Patent In $372M Case
Labcorp, one of the world's largest chains of clinical lab providers, lost its appeal over a patent tied to a $372 million judgment it is facing in the Western District of Texas, after Federal Circuit judges on Monday upheld an administrative patent board ruling against it two years ago.
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December 20, 2024
Medical Records Co. Wants Rival's Antitrust Suit Tossed
Epic Systems Corp. told a New York federal court that an antitrust case lodged by Particle Health Inc. is really just payback for revealing concerns that Particle allowed its customers to inappropriately access personal medical records.
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December 20, 2024
Top Privacy & Cybersecurity Developments Of 2024
The state data privacy law patchwork continued to add new and varied pieces in 2024, while major hacks shook up the healthcare industry and other critical sectors, and the first U.S. laws setting guardrails for the use of artificial intelligence technologies emerged.
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December 19, 2024
Google Health Tracking Plaintiffs Fight To Keep Suit Alive
A California federal judge who was asked by Google to toss a proposed class action alleging that the tech giant illicitly scoops up users' personal data from healthcare providers' websites indicated during a Thursday hearing that he might grant the request while adding that he still has "a lot more thinking to do."
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December 17, 2024
UNC Doctor Can't Shield Minor Transgender Patients' Records
A University of North Carolina doctor cannot assert privilege over medical records sought from the university by state Republicans fighting a suit by the physician and others seeking to enjoin a law imposing limits on transgender care for minors, a federal magistrate judge has ruled.
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December 17, 2024
Stanford Profs Say Roche's Trade Secret Claims Time-Barred
Stanford University's trustees and three of its professors have asked a California federal court to dismiss trade secret theft claims bought by subsidiaries of F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, arguing that the allegations are time-barred because the companies were on notice of the purported misappropriation for over three years before filing suit.
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December 17, 2024
New Fed Health Data Rules: What You Need To Know
The Biden administration this week established long-awaited regulations codifying how medical providers and vendors must share electronic health information. New provisions were included to thwart criminal investigations into reproductive healthcare.
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December 17, 2024
FDA Sharpens Focus On Celebrity Drug Endorsements
Ads featuring celebrities such as tennis star Serena Williams and interior designer Nate Berkus surfaced in FDA enforcement letters this year. The agency has ramped up its scrutiny of influencer drug promotion.
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December 11, 2024
Ga. Judge Refuses To Reconsider Toss Of Patient Data Suit
A Georgia federal judge has refused to reconsider the dismissal of a proposed class action alleging Piedmont Healthcare Inc. unlawfully shared patients' health data with Facebook via the company's tracking pixel tool.
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December 10, 2024
UpHealth Says Glocal Execs Stalling On $115M Award Suit
Digital health services company UpHealth has asked an Illinois federal judge to favor its efforts to pin down assets belonging to executives of Indian healthcare firm Glocal as it looks to enforce a $115 million arbitral award, saying the respondents are engaging in "obstructionist" conduct.
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December 06, 2024
Google Must Face Trimmed BIPA Suit Over IBM Dataset
A California federal judge on Thursday permitted Illinois residents to proceed with a pared-down version of their proposed class action accusing Google of violating biometric privacy laws with facial data collected by IBM, ruling they've adequately alleged a violation of the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act.
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December 06, 2024
NC Hospital Gets Initial OK For $1.1M Data Breach Deal
A North Carolina Business Court judge has given his initial seal of approval to a $1.1 million settlement agreement in a data breach class action against Columbus Regional Healthcare System.
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December 06, 2024
Colo. Children's Hospital Fined $548K For Phishing Attacks
Children's Hospital Colorado was hit with a more than $548,000 fine over phishing and cyberattacks that violated patient privacy rules, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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December 05, 2024
Pain Management Clinic Fined $1.19 Million for HIPAA Breach
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has fined a Florida pain management clinic $1.19 million for alleged HIPAA violations involving a former contractor that impermissibly accessed the clinic's electronic record system.
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December 05, 2024
IQVIA Gets Final OK For $3.5M Deal In Ex-Workers' 401(k) Suit
A North Carolina federal judge on Thursday gave his final seal of approval to a $3.5 million settlement for a class of 9,000 employees who accused healthcare technology company IQVIA of mismanaging its $1.13 billion 401(k) plan.
Expert Analysis
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What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement
Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.
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Digging Into The Debate On FDA's Proposed Lab Test Rule
A proposed 10-word amendment from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration represents a sea change in device regulation as it would summarily end decades of FDA enforcement discretion for laboratory developed tests, and the public comments offer some insight into the future of this long-running saga, say attorneys at Mintz.
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AI Executive Order's Life Science, Healthcare Industry Effects
The recent White House executive order to manage risks associated with artificial intelligence includes provisions specific to healthcare and life sciences that merit special attention, including transparency, human oversight of AI output, and real world performance monitoring, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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5 Most Notable Class Action Standing Cases Of 2023
Key appellate class action decisions this past year continued the trend of a more demanding approach to the threshold issue of standing during each phase of litigation, say attorneys at MoFo.
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How SEC And NY Cyber Reporting Rules Affect Key Industries
The new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York State Department of Financial Services cybersecurity disclosure requirements, and their competing obligations, reveal the increasing complexity for organizations evaluating and reacting to cybersecurity incidents — particularly those in the healthcare and financial services industries, say attorneys at Manatt.
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In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023
Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
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5 Steps For Healthcare Companies After Biden's AI Order
Rather than simply monitoring for the issuance of agency guidelines on artificial intelligence in the wake of President Joe Biden's October executive order, health and life sciences companies should take action now and begin building internal operational and technical infrastructures designed to govern the use of AI, says Joy Sharp at Faegre Drinker.
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The Basics Of Law Firm Cyber Liability Insurance Applications
Cyber liability insurance has become a common consideration for law firms as cyber threats have escalated, but these insurance forms can be quite complicated given the nature of the industry and associated risks, so simply filling out the form won't necessarily result in an ideal policy for your firm, says Kevin Haight at WAMS.
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AI Brings New Insurance Concerns For Healthcare Providers
As the healthcare industry increasingly invests in medical artificial intelligence tools, it confronts a variety of liability risks that necessitate careful consideration and potential recalibration of providers' insurance programs, say Marialuisa Gallozzi and Megan Mumford Myers at Covington.
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Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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White House Activity Is A Band-Aid For Regulating AI In Health
In the medium term, recent White House actions will have a greater impact on AI in the health care industry than Congress' sluggish efforts to regulate it, but ultimately legislation of AI's development and use in the health space will fall to Congress, say Wendell Bartnick and Vanessa Perumal at Reed Smith.
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How Legal Teams Can Prep For Life Sciences' Tech Revolution
The life sciences and health care industries are uniquely positioned to take advantage of new efficiencies created by cloud computing and generative artificial intelligence, but the sensitivity of their data also demands careful navigation of an expanding legislative and regulatory landscape, say Kristi Gedid, Zack Laplante and Lisa LaMotta at Ernst & Young.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.