Mount Nittany agrees to $1.8M settlement over tracking software. Here’s what you should know
Tens of thousands of people would be in line to receive a small share of a $1.8 million settlement that was submitted Monday for a Centre County judge’s approval.
About 74,000 people who were Mount Nittany Health patients or used the health system’s website could be eligible if the agreement is OK’d by Centre County Judge Brian Marshall. No approval hearings were scheduled as of Tuesday afternoon.
The precise number of people who are eligible is not known, but settlement documents showed the agreement covers all people who live in Pennsylvania and accessed a Mount Nittany website or patient portal dating back to 2007.
Messages left with the attorneys for the Centre County residents who brought the lawsuit were not immediately returned Tuesday.
In a written statement, Mount Nittany said it was one of many other health systems that were sued in cases that challenged the use of what they described as “common marketing tools frequently used on websites to improve user experience.”
Mount Nittany also said it prioritizes patient privacy and deeply values the “trust placed in us to protect medical information.”
“No data breach occurred, no medical records were shared, and no protected health information was disclosed,” a health system spokesperson wrote in a statement. “As stewards of Mount Nittany Health’s time and resources, we chose to settle rather than engage in a lengthy, expensive, and uncertain litigation process. This does not imply wrongdoing, as the court has found no fault on the part of Mount Nittany Health.”
The class-action lawsuit accused Mount Nittany of operating tracking software on its website and patient portal that is capable of sharing private medical information with third parties such as Facebook and Google.
The suit also claimed the Big Tech companies would then share that private medical information to third-party advertisers who would use the data to tailor targeted advertisements.
Mount Nittany denied the allegations and neither admitted wrongdoing or liability. Instead, the agreement said the two sides came together after extensive negotiations to avoid the “burden, expense, risk, and uncertainty” of litigation.
In addition to the $1.8 million it agreed to pay, Mount Nittany must also ensure its use of tracking software complies with the federal law that restricts the release of medical information.
Each of those who are would be required to submit a claim form in order to receive a portion of the settlement. Claims could be submitted online at a website that is not yet operational or by mail.
Eligible members could also opt out of the settlement.