Wherever you go on the internet, trackers follow. These ubiquitous bits of code, invisibly embedded in most websites, are powerful tools that can reveal the pages you visit, the buttons you click, and the forms you fill to help advertisers tail and target you across the web.
But put those trackers on a health care website, and they have the potential to leak sensitive medical information — a risk that, in the last year, has driven the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Trade Commission to crack down on trackers in the websites of hospitals, telehealth companies, and more.
Health systems and companies have scrambled to adapt, many removing the trackers entirely in the face of regulatory enforcement and a growing set of class action lawsuits alleging the disclosure of patient’s protected health information. But another contingent is steeling itself for a fight, arguing that regulators have overstepped their authority and hobbled critical health care infrastructure by targeting trackers.