The OCR and FTC are cautioning hospitals and telehealth providers about the privacy and security risks related to the use of online tracking technologies that may be integrated into their websites or mobile apps that may be impermissibly disclosing consumers’ sensitive personal health data to third parties. Tracking technologies are used to collect and analyze information about how users interact with websites or mobile apps. Generally, tracking technologies developed by third parties send information directly to the third parties who developed such technologies and may continue to track users and gather information about them even after they navigate away from the original website to other websites.
Read the full press release from HHS.