Class Action Lawsuit Accuses WakeMed of Sharing Health Information with Facebook
WakeMed is facing yet another lawsuit over a digital tracker on its website that sent sensitive patient health data to Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
The ‘Meta pixel’ was installed on the health system’s appointment scheduling page and on its password-protected patient portal, potentially giving the advertising giant access to information about patients’ health conditions, contact information and vaccination status, an investigation by The Markup and STAT, two nonprofit news organizations, found in June.
The class action complaint, which focuses on a Raleigh woman, claims the health system failed to adequately protect patient information, train its employees and comply with industry-standard data security practices. Ultimately, the lawsuit argues, the health system unlawfully disclosed the plaintiff’s personally identifiable information and protected health information without her consent.
