“Heavy Purchaser – Pregnancy Test Kits”
At your first appointment with a new doctor, you’ll fill out a form about your privacy rights under HIPAA, the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act. That’s led to a widespread misconception about health privacy. There’s no federal law protecting your health information unless its in the hands of health care providers, insurance companies, or their business associates.
The advertising industry is left to do whatever it wants with the medical data it gets from sources like the websites you visit, the things you search for, and the apps you use. Recently the Federal Trade Commission changed the game, and said it’s illegal for companies to use your health information for ads unless they explicitly tell you about it and get your consent. According to this list from Xander, however, there’s still plenty of medical advertising data floating around.
