Vicki J. Tankle

“Vicki is pragmatic and good at negotiating with regulators.”
Chambers, USA, Healthcare, client

“Vicki Tankle is sought after by healthcare institutions for her experience in regulatory compliance and digital healthcare issues.”
Chambers, USA, Healthcare

Vicki is an experienced health care and life sciences regulatory, privacy, and digital health attorney. She counsels clients in navigating the complex and ever-evolving intersection of technology and health care. Vicki provides strategic guidance on leveraging digital health and data innovations while mitigating risk, supporting clients in areas such as telehealth, mobile health apps, smart medical devices, data analytics, strategic data partnerships, online tracking, reproductive health privacy, offshoring, incident response, interoperability and information blocking compliance, and machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Experience

Representative matters

Serves as HIPAA and health privacy counsel for national and local health care systems and health plans, medical device manufacturers, and health IT companies.

Successfully defended multiple investigations by HHS, Office for Civil Rights regarding data breaches, cybersecurity safeguards, access, and other individual rights complaints, resulting in closures of the investigations with no monetary settlements or corrective action plans.

Serves as privacy counsel to one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States, including advising on data and contract strategies, cyber incident response, investigation and reporting, HIPAA and privacy and security compliance program updates, and compliance with the Information Blocking Rule and patient access and interoperability rules.

Health privacy and data protection counseling

Serves as HIPAA and health privacy counsel for national and local health care systems and health plans, medical device manufacturers, and health IT companies.

Advises large health insurance and health system clients on risk mitigation related to use of tracking technologies, responds to government agency inquiries regarding data privacy and security practices, and counsels on data use in the development and improvement of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools.

Counsels multiple health care providers on developing patient communications policies and permissions that comply with federal (e.g., HIPAA, TCPA, CAN-SPAM Act) and state laws.

Drafts health privacy terms in terms of use and privacy policies for digital health websites, mobile apps, and online platforms.

Advises clients on operationalizing compliance with evolving reproductive health privacy standards.

Assists substance use disorder treatment providers in navigating the unique privacy challenges that arise for this aspect of the health care sector due to its regulation by two historically conflicting frameworks: HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 (the federal Substance Use Disorder Confidentiality Regulations).

Counseled a new entrant in the 3D-printed anatomical models market on various privacy aspects of its new business line, including compliance with both HIPAA and federal and state privacy laws depending on the personal data at issue.

Interoperability and information blocking

Assists a Fortune 500 company with electronic health record (EHR) technology in navigating the evolving certification criteria and functional requirements for ONC-certified health IT, including compliance with standardized API, electronic health information export, and biannual attestation requirements, as well as the Information Blocking Rule.

Advises health care providers, including multi-state health systems, long-term care providers, and specialty health care practices, on responding to third-party requests for electronic health information in an Information Blocking Rule-compliant manner.

Health care compliance: fraud and abuse

Advised a life sciences company on fraud and abuse risk mitigation strategies in connection with developing and commercializing health IT functionalities to deploy in EHR for providers, such as client clinical decision support alerts, patient risk stratification, or order set optimization functionalities.

Conducts gap analyses and prepares enhancements of health care and life sciences companies’ compliance programs.

Provides regulatory counseling for nationwide outpatient therapy provider on reimbursement and licensure issues.

Counsels pharmacies, health systems, independent diagnostic testing facilities, and DME suppliers on federal and state laws and government health care program standards restricting offshoring.

Advises various medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers on compliance with the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act (aka Open Payments), and related state laws.

Defended nationwide skilled nursing facility chain in Federal False Claims Act investigation and litigation related to rehabilitation therapy billing practices under Medicare and negotiated Settlement Agreement and Corporate Integrity Agreement.

Negotiates and implements corporate integrity agreements for health care and life science companies.

Innovative data flows and strategic data partnerships

Advised a large U.S. health care company on pilot telehealth and decentralized clinical trial recruitment and participation programs focused on leveraging pharmacy data to identify at-risk and diverse populations with care gaps, as well as potential clinical trial participation opportunities.

Developed the health privacy framework through which a health care trade association collaborated with researchers to establish a government-funded data consortium that affirmatively links certain identifiable EHR data from long-term care providers to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services claims data to enable efficient and collaborative research focused on tracking and responding to emerging diseases and the development and distribution of updated care protocols in accordance with applicable law.

Advised a life sciences company seeking to offer digital tools for nurse educators and coaches to interact with patients about specific products and services with development and commercialization of the tool from a data flow and privacy perspective.

Telehealth and remote monitoring

Supports local and multi-state health systems in developing and implementing cutting edge and legally sound health care offerings via telehealth.

Provided regulatory assistance pertaining to HIPAA compliance, telehealth requirements, corporate practice of medicine requirements and prohibitions, and fraud and abuse analysis to a digital health start-up offering a telehealth membership program designed to provide data-driven, personalized care to patients experiencing chronic illnesses.

Provides health care regulatory, compliance, and privacy guidance to technology companies that provide provider-and patient-facing remote patient monitoring and data analytics platform services, including assisting clients with data flows and permissions, technology functionalities, and commercial contracting.

Conducts specialized health privacy and digital health due diligence in connection with large-scale and smaller transactions in the health IT, medical device, and remote monitoring sectors of the health care industry.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning

Helped a digital health start-up, which offers a proprietary AI-based technology that can analyze digital audio biomarkers to aid in clinician and patient decision-making to analyze their customer arrangements from a health privacy perspective and develop a HIPAA and privacy compliance strategy.

Advises health care providers and technology clients on implementing AI-based technologies (e.g., designed to help identify abnormalities in patient scans) and reducing the privacy risks they would face in using such technology through the de-identification of personal data.

Recognitions

Ranked in Chambers USA for Pennsylvania Healthcare, 2026
Named a “Rising Star” in the LMG Life Science Guide for Healthcare Pricing and Reimbursement, 2025
Making Justice Real Pro Bono Award 2016, presented by the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia

Credentials

Education

The George Washington University Law School, 2014, J.D., Thurgood Marshall Scholar; International Law Review
The George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services, 2014, M.P.H.
Dickinson College, 2011, B.A., Law and Policy with honors; Spanish with honors; Phi Beta Kappa; summa cum laude