PJ&A, Northwell Health, Cook County Health, Salem Regional Medical Center, and Mercy Health Under Investigation for Data Breach of 8.9 Million Patient Records

Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating a data breach impacting the sensitive personal and health information of 8.9 million patients of Perry Johnson & Associates (PJ&A), a Nevada-based provider of transcription services to healthcare providers and physicians for dictating and transcribing patient notes.

PJ&A provides its services to numerous healthcare providers, including Northwell Health, Cook County Health, Salem Regional Medical Center, and Mercy Health.

According to PJ&A, an unauthorized party gained access to the company’s computer network between March 27 and May 2, 2023. However, PJ&A only began notifying impacted patients over six months later, on October 31, 2023, which may have violated state and federal laws.

The company recently informed patients that the following personal and health information may have been stolen in the breach: names; birthdates; medical record numbers; hospital account numbers; admission diagnoses and dates; Social Security numbers; insurance information; and clinical information from medical transcription files, including laboratory and diagnostic testing results, medications, treatments facilities, and healthcare providers.

If your personal information was impacted by this incident, you may be at risk of identity theft, healthcare fraud, and other serious violations of your privacy. As a result, you may be entitled to money damages and an injunction requiring changes to the companies’ cybersecurity practices.

If you received notification of this data breach from PJ&A or are a patient of Northwell Health, Cook County Health, Salem Regional Medical Center, or Mercy Health and wish to obtain additional information about your legal rights, please complete the form below for a free legal consultation.