Class Action Claims Tenet Healthcare Discloses Website Visitors’ Data to Facebook, Others Without Consent

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action out of California claims Tenet Healthcare Corporation secretly discloses to third parties the private health information of patients who visit at least 12 healthcare websites it operates.

If you’re a Facebook user who’s used a hospital website operated by Tenet Healthcare between 2021 and June 2023 for healthcare services, let us know here.

The 121-page lawsuit alleges that when actual or prospective patients visit certain websites belonging to California hospitals and medical systems Tenet owns, invisible tracking software intercepts their interactions with the site and sends this data to Facebook, Google and other third parties. These tools, which track the webpages each individual visits, the buttons they click and the information they type in text boxes, allow third parties to learn intimate details about a patient’s medical symptoms, conditions and treatments, the case contends.

According to the complaint, Tenet makes these disclosures without website visitors’ knowledge or written consent in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and federal and state law.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

The filing claims Tenet has embedded tracking tools, including a small piece of software known as the Meta pixel, within the code of the following websites and their accompanying patient portals:

• TenetHealthCentralCoast.com;
• TenetHealthCentralCoast.com/portal;
• TenetHealthPacificCoast.com;
  
• DesertCareNetwork.com/home;
  
• DMC-Modesto.com;
  
• DoctorsManteca.com;
  
• EmanuelMedicalCenter.org;
• FountainValleyHospital.com;
• LakewoodRegional.com;
  
• LosAlamitosMedCtr.com;
  
• PlacentiaLinda.com; and
  
• SanRamonMedCtr.com.
  

The suit also names as a defendant Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, one of the 13 hospitals that Tenet owns and operates in California. The plaintiff, a California resident who began visiting the hospital’s website in 2018 to look for OBGYNs and pediatricians, says she had “no idea” her activity on DMC-Modesto.com was being sent to third parties.

According to the case, the Meta pixel also transmits identifiable information that lets Facebook know exactly who is browsing Tenet’s sites. These unique identifiers include patients’ email addresses, IP addresses and their Facebook IDs, the complaint states. A Facebook ID, the lawsuit relays, is linked to an individual’s Facebook profile and allows the social media giant—or any ordinary person—to locate their page.

“In exchange for disclosing patients’ personally identifiable information, [the defendants] receive compensation from Facebook in the form of enhanced advertising services and more cost-efficient marketing on Facebook,” the filing reads. “Based on information and belief, [the defendants] were advertising their services on Facebook, and the Meta Pixel was used to help Tenet Healthcare understand which types of ads and platforms were getting the most engagement.”

The lawsuit seeks to cover anyone who is or was a patient or prospective patient of Tenet Healthcare or any of its affiliates and who exchanged communications with any of the above-listed websites or their accompanying patient portals at any time since July 21, 2018.

If you’re a Facebook user who’s used a hospital website operated by Tenet Healthcare between 2021 and June 2023 for healthcare services, let us know here.