It is unclear exactly how long Advocate Aurora has used pixel technology and when a patient information breach was identified. The health system did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But a notice of violation was filed with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights on October 14. HHS is investigating the matter affecting 3 million individuals, according to a breach report. offense.
Aurora advocates said it disabled and removed the pixels from its platform and conducted an internal investigation to find where patient information was transmitted.
Advocate Aurora said in the statement that it assumes all patients have an Advocate Aurora Health MyChart account, including LiveWell app users, and any patients using the scheduling facilities on Advocate’s platform Aurora Health, can all be affected.
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Data that may be leaked include IP addresses; dates, times and locations of scheduled appointments; patients near the Advocate Aurora Health site; supplier information; type of appointment or procedure; name and number of medical records; and insurance information. Aurora supporters said at this time they do not believe that social security numbers, financial information and credit or debit information have been leaked.
“These pixels are highly unlikely to result in identity theft or any financial harm, and we have no evidence of misuse or incidents of fraud stemming from the fraud. this incident,” said Advocate Aurora.
Many hospitals already use pixel technology on patient portals and websites. And as patients realize the possible dangers to privacy, some have sued health systems over the issue.
In Chicago, a proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in August against Northwestern Memorial Hospital over Meta’s use of pixel trackers. The lawsuit alleges that Meta Pixel collected highly sensitive medical data from Northwestern Memorial’s portal and sold the information to third-party organizations that would target advertising to patients.
Similar proposed class action lawsuits have been filed against the San Francisco-based UCSF Center for Health and Dignity, and Baltimore’s MedStar Health System.
This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain’s Chicago Business.
