FTC sues telehealth firm Hims over data and billing practices

Health

Times Colonist

U.S. regulators have sued telehealth pioneer Hims, alleging the company automatically enrolled customers in recurring prescriptions with little chance to review treatment, shared sensitive health data with Meta and other platforms, and approved prescriptions without real-time clinician consultations, the FTC says. The complaint is part of a string of federal actions against telehealth and digital health firms after the sector expanded since the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts note many consumer-facing telehealth platforms fall outside HIPAA, so the FTC is using its unfair or deceptive practices authority, though penalties often take the form of consent orders.

Telehealth firms face scrutiny for data sharing and billing practices