The Markup's investigation into hospital online tracking practices won 'Best Story' at the 2023 Digiday Media Awards for revealing that many U.S. hospitals were sending sensitive patient data to Facebook via the Meta Pixel. This included personal details such as medical conditions, prescription medications, and more, potentially violating HIPAA regulations that protect patient privacy. Enabled by a crowd-sourced project with Mozilla Rally, this investigation underscores significant privacy concerns within healthcare and the implications of third-party tracking on patient confidentiality.
"I cannot say [sharing this data] is for certain a HIPAA violation. It is quite likely a HIPAA violation." Barnes said in response to the investigation regarding data sharing practices.
"The investigation uncovered that healthcare providers shared sensitive patient data with Facebook, including medical conditions and appointment details through the Meta Pixel tracking tool."
"Our findings highlight a serious breach of patient confidentiality, revealing how healthcare institutions might risk violating HIPAA by sharing information with third parties without consent."
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