Wellstar Health System Reaches $4.25M Settlement Over Claims of Patient Data Sharing

Wellstar Health System agreed to pay $4.25 million after accusations surfaced that it used tracking tools to collect private health data from its website and MyChart patient portal, then shared this information with Meta and Google. The settlement affects nearly 870,000 people whose information may have been gathered between February 2020 and July 22, 2026.

The complaint said the health system installed tracking tools from Meta, which owns Facebook, and Google onto its website and patient portal. Patients logged in. Code embedded in the website captured patient activity.

Meta Pixel could link searches for specific medical conditions to a patient's Facebook profile. The health system could then use that connection to target patients with health-related ads on Facebook.

A federal judge allowed some claims to move forward. The lawsuit alleged the organization went "beyond the scope of patients' permission" by using their data to improve its own advertising, the judge found, per WRDW. The judge also determined the lawsuit alleged the interception of patient communications was done for a "criminal or tortious purpose."

The company wasn't paid cash for the data. Instead, the organization got enhanced advertising services and more cost-efficient marketing from Meta and Google in return.

The settlement isn't an admission of wrongdoing, according to the health system. The $4.25 million fund will be split among all valid claimants after attorneys' fees and administrative costs. Individual payouts are expected to be small given the number of class members.

The settlement requires final court approval. Once approved, anyone whose data was collected will have 75 days to file a claim. Patients who used MyChart or visited Wellstar.org at any point since February 2020 may be eligible and should watch for notification by email or postcard.