On January 3, 2023, North Kansas City Hospital (“NKCH”) filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights after learning that confidential patient information was compromised as a result of a data security incident at Perry Johnson & Associates, Inc. (“PJ&A”). In this notice, NKCH explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, dates of birth, genders, phone numbers and addresses, health insurance information, and clinical information. Upon completing its investigation, PJ&A informed NKCH of the incident, and NKCH began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification from Perry Johnson & Associates, Inc. or North Kansas City Hospital, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Perry Johnson & Associates / North Kansas City Hospital data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What Caused the Data Breach Affecting North Kansas City Hospital Patients?
The Perry Johnson & Associates / North Kansas City Hospital data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, NKCH’s filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights provides some important information on what led up to the breach. NKCH also posted a website notice describing the incident.
According to these sources, on July 21, 2023, PJ&A, which is a vendor used by NKCH, informed NKCH of a data security incident in which an unauthorized party gained access to the PJ&A network. In response, PJ&A launched an investigation with the help of third-party forensic specialists.
This investigation concluded that there was unauthorized access to PJ&A’s systems between March 27, 2023 and May 2, 2023, including to files containing confidential information belonging to North Kansas City Hospital patients.
After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Perry Johnson & Associates reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, date of birth, gender, phone number and address, health insurance information, and clinical information.
On January 3, 2024, North Kansas City Hospital sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident at PJ&A. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.
More Information About Perry Johnson & Associates, Inc. and North Kansas City Hospital
Perry Johnson & Associates is a transcription company based out of Henderson, Nevada. PJ&A operates primarily in the medical, legal and government industries but serves clients across other industries as well. Since 2015, PJ&A has been the largest privately held transcription company in the United States. PJ&A employs more than 77 people and generates approximately $16 million in annual revenue.
Founded in 1958, North Kansas City Hospital is a healthcare system based out of Kansas City, Missouri. NKCH operates an acute care facility with 451 licensed beds and 550 physicians covering 49 medical specialties. Additionally, NKCH owns Meritas Health, which operates a network of 280 primary and specialty care doctors and advanced practice providers in 35 locations. North Kansas City Hospital employs more than 3,500 people and generates approximately $432 million in annual revenue.
