Q&A: FTC action on health data sharing could put digital health 'on notice'

Scott Loughlin, partner at Hogan Lovells, discusses the Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against GoodRx and what digital health companies should learn from the case. Digital health businesses are coming under fire from the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly sharing customer health information with advertisers. The organisation said GoodRx exchanged private health data with companies like Google and Facebook last month. The business, which is best known for its tools for tracking prescription costs, agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine to resolve the dispute but made no admissions of guilt. Meanwhile, the FTC just yesterday revealed a proposed ruling that would forbid the online therapy provider BetterHelp from using customer health information for advertising purposes and paying $7.8 million to those whose data was disclosed. BetterHelp further acknowledged no wrongdoing and mentioned that it had reached a settlement in relation to alleged activities from a number of years ago.