Atrium Health has agreed to pay up to $1.8 million to settle a class action lawsuit related to the use of tracking technologies on its MyAtriumHealth and MyCarolinas patient portals.
Settlement Agreement
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, doing business as Atrium Health, agreed to establish a settlement fund of up to $1,800,000 to resolve litigation associated with the use of pixels and other tracking technologies on its patient portals. The lawsuit was filed following allegations that patient information may have been disclosed to third parties through the operation of those technologies.
The settlement was reached after multiple class action lawsuits were consolidated into a single complaint in the Superior Court of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The consolidated case, Julie Roberts, et al. v. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, named Julie Roberts, Darielle Hill, Judith Sigmon, and Chrisanna Brown as representatives of a national class.
Allegations in the Lawsuit
The plaintiffs alleged that their privacy was violated through the use of tracking technologies on the patient portal. The complaint claimed that the technologies were added without the knowledge or consent of patients.
The lawsuit asserted claims for breach of express contract, unjust enrichment, breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of implied contract.
Atrium Health denied the allegations and maintained that it did not violate any laws. The organization filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The motion was partially successful, although the litigation was permitted to continue. The parties later agreed to settle the case rather than continue the litigation process.
Patient Information Potentially Disclosed
Atrium Health used tracking technologies on its patient portal. Following an investigation, the organization determined that the protected health information (PHI) of up to 585,959 patients were potentially impermissibly disclosed to third parties between January 1, 2015, and July 31, 2019.
When submitting the incident report, Atrium Health thought that all patients who used the portal had their electronic protected health information (ePHI) impermissibly disclosed.
Information that may have been disclosed included IP addresses and third-party identifiers or cookies. Information entered into forms may also have included full names, phone numbers, email addresses, city, state, ZIP code, gender, and other details entered into those forms.
Settlement Class and Payments
The settlement applies to individuals residing in the United States who had MyAtriumHealth or MyCarolinas patient portal accounts between January 1, 2025, and April 10, 2024, subject to limited exceptions.
Atrium Health agreed that $1,500,000 of the settlement fund will be used for attorneys’ fees and expenses, administration costs for Group 1 claims, and payments to individuals who used their patient portal accounts between January 1, 2015, and July 31, 2019.
The settlement also includes up to $300,000 for Group 2 claims. Group 2 consists of individuals who had a patient portal account between January 1, 2015, and April 10, 2024, but did not access their account between January 1, 2015, and July 31, 2019.
Any remaining funds in the Group 1 settlement fund will be distributed on a pro rata basis to eligible claimants who submit claims. Eligible Group 2 claimants may receive a payment of up to $10 if a claim is submitted.
Settlement Deadlines
The deadline to opt out of the settlement or submit an objection is August 31, 2026. Claims must be submitted by September 28, 2026. A final fairness hearing is scheduled for September 30, 2026.