BILLINGS A Montana woman has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Billings Clinic, alleging the health care system unlawfully shared patients' online activity with third-party advertising companies through tracking tec hnology embedded on its website, in violation of federal and state privacy laws.Watch the story below: Lawsuit accuses Billings Clinic of sharing patient website data without consentThe lawsuit, filed July 14 in U.S. District Court, names Billings Clinic as the defendant and seeks to represent patients whose information was allegedly collected and disclosed without their knowledge or consent.According to the complaint, plaintiff Lydia Brester visited Billings Clinic's public website to search for an ophthalmologist. The lawsuit alleges that shortly afterward she began receiving targeted online advertisements related to eye care services despite never authorizing her information to be used for marketing purposes.The complaint alleges Billings Clinic installed website tracking tools, including technology from Google and the digital advertising company StackAdapt, that collected information about visitors' activity on the health system's website and transmitted it to third-party advertising platforms.The lawsuit argues that the information shared could reveal sensitive health-related information and searches, and alleges that those disclosures violated patients' privacy rights. The complaint further alleges Billings Clinic's own privacy policies promised that it "never shares or discloses users health information for marketing purposes or for the sale of users information without first obtaining the users written authorization." The lawsuit argues those representations conflicted with the health system's alleged use of website tracking technologies.The lawsuit alleges violations of the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Montana's Health Care Information Act, and other state privacy protections. Montana's Constitution recognizes privacy as a fundamental right, and the complaint argues the state's health privacy laws provide protections beyond those required under federal law.If the class is certified and the plaintiffs prevail, the lawsuit seeks statutory damages of up to $10,000 per person under federal law and up to $5,000 per person under Montana law. Because Billings Clinic serves patients across Montana, Wyoming, and surrounding states, the complaint argues the potential class could include thousands of individuals.Attorneys representing Brester, Helena-based Doubek, Pyfer Storrar, and Chicago-based Stephan Zouras LLP declined to comment on the pending litigation.Billings Clinic has not filed a formal response in court. In a statement provided to MTN News, Chief Information Officer Justin Ott disputed the allegations."Billings Clinic does not sell patient information, and we have robust HIPAA compliance policies and procedures in place, including practices related to marketing," Ott said.The health system also rejected the lawsuit's claim that it received financial compensation from third parties in connection with patient data. "The allegation that we receive 'substantial monetary compensation' from third parties related to our external website is absolutely false," Ott said in the statement. "Additionally, we have no knowledge of past or current inquiries from the FTC or other government agencies related to our website."Ott said Billings Clinic became aware of the lawsuit earlier this week and is reviewing the complaint."We will respond appropriately and will always stand by our commitment to doing what is best for the patients we serve," the statement said.Billings resident Mike Bledsoe, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said the allegations concerned him because patients expect health care providers to protect their personal information."When you walk into the clinic, there's a sign that says everybody will be treated with respect," Bledsoe said. "If this turns out to be true, you can shove the trust issue right off the cliff."Bledsoe said he worries about how increasingly digital health care systems collect and manage patients' personal information, adding that he has previously declined to provide personal information because of privacy concerns.The court has not ruled on the allegations in the Billings Clinic case. ...read more read less