Is There Another Way to Protest a Privacy Violation?
We think that the first step should always be to complain directly to the covered entity that did something you think was wrong. Each covered entity has a privacy officer, and the name, address, and telephone number of the privacy officer should be included in the notice of privacy practices. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves the chance to make things right. It is also important for covered entities to know that people pay attention to privacy and that people care when privacy violations occur. If the covered entity does not satisfy you, then you can look elsewhere. We don’t think that every minor violation should become a federal case. Consider complaining locally about any violation. You get to make the choice. Remember too that filing a complaint may bring more attention to you and to your health record. You may want to be guarded about how much of your personal medical information you include in the complaint. In other words, the complaint process may further invade yo
