This is an important question for anyone who has been a patient of Atrium Health, a hospital system with several hospitals and medical facilities in Georgia, including Macon, Rome, Forsyth, Byron, Milledgeville, and Warner Robbins. This story has been reported in Becker’s Hospital Review and The Charlotte Observer.   Here’s what you need to know in plain English:

• A lawsuit claims that Atrium Health allegedly shared patient information with Facebook and Google. This could include things like what medical conditions you have or what services you used at the hospital.
• The lawsuit says this information was shared through a special code on Atrium Health’s website. This code might have tracked what patients looked at on the website and then used that information to show them ads related to their health.
• Atrium Health denies this. They say they keep patient information private and don’t share it with social media companies. They also say a similar lawsuit was thrown out of court before.

This is still a developing story, but here’s what it means for you:

• If you were ever a patient at Atrium Health in Georgia, you might want to be on the lookout for suspicious emails or ads related to your health.
• It’s important to remember that your medical information is private. At no point should you ever feel pressured to share it online or with anyone you don’t trust.