PaymentsMD had set up a patient portal through which consumers could pay bills and view billing information. However, the company had included in the fine print that it could also access the consumers’ clinical information from pharmacies, medical laboratories and insurance companies. According to the settlement, the company is required to destroy all the clinical data it collected.
FTC spokesman Jay Mayfield said that under the FTC Law, the commission can’t immediately levee fines against PaymentsMD. The company will be monitored by the FTC’s enforcement arm to make sure that it complies with the order. If it does not, it could be fined up to $16,000 per day, per person harmed, according to the report.
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