HHS Office for Civil Rights Issues Bulletin on Requirements under HIPAA for Online Tracking Technologies to Protect the Privacy and Security of Health Information

Today, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a bulletin to highlight the obligations of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) on covered entities and business associates (“regulated entities”) under the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules (“HIPAA Rules”) when using online tracking technologies.  These online tracking technologies, like Google Analytics or Meta Pixel, collect and analyze information about how internet users are interacting with a regulated entity’s website or mobile application.