DHCS’ Office of Legal Services and Data Privacy Unit work collaboratively with counties, business associates, and other state agencies to safeguard Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). DHCS also works with these entities to investigate privacy breaches and complaints involving unauthorized access or disclosure of PHI, PII, and confidential information.

The Data Privacy Unit has no authority to investigate reports of privacy breaches for individuals who are not Medi-Cal beneficiaries or entities with whom it does not have an existing agreement. If you are a Medi-Cal beneficiary or otherwise receive services through a DHCS program (i.e. California Children’s Services, Genetically Handicapped Persons Program), and you believe your data was compromised, please contact your local county office using the link below:

County Offices

If you are a county, DHCS business associate, or other state agency with whom DHCS has an established contractual relationship, you can submit an incident/breach report to the DHCS Privacy Incident Reporting Portal using the link below:

DHCS Privacy Incident Reporting Portal

Contact Information

Name	Phone Number	Email Address	Mailing Address
Privacy Office	N/A	DHCSPrivacyOfficer@dhcs.ca.gov	1501 Capitol Avenue MS0010 P.O. Box 997413 Sacramento, CA95899-7413
Data Privacy Unit	(916) 445-4646 Fax: (916) 327-4556 Toll Free: (866) 866-0602 TTY/TDD: (877) 735-2929	incidents@dhcs.ca.gov	California Department of Health Care Services Data Privacy Unit 1700 K Street MS 4721 P.O. Box 997413, Sacramento, CA 95899-7413

Breach Reporting

For entities required to report any security or Privacy Incident to DHCS:

• Privacy Incident Reporting Portal

• Privacy Incident Reporting Form (PDF) (if the portal is not working)

For counties, please see the latest Medi-Cal Privacy and Security Agreement for breach reporting requirements to DHCS:

• ACWDL 24-08 2024 Medi-Cal Privacy and Security Agreements (PSA)
• ACWDL 24-08 E 2024 Medi-Cal Privacy and Security Agreement Supplement

For individuals, report violations of your rights to the federal Office for Civil Rights, housed within the Department of Health and Human Services:

• Office for Civil Rights

For Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) covered entities, please notify the Secretary of Health and Human Services:

• Secretary of Health and Human Services

Member Rights and Information

For information about an individual’s privacy rights and how their protected health information may be used and disclosed, please see:

• DHCS’s Notice of Privacy Practices

For privacy forms to help individuals access their protected health information and exercise other privacy rights, please see:

• DHCS’s Privacy Forms

For any questions regarding Medi-Cal and other DHCS programs, please refer to:

• County Offices and follow the link to your county office for assistance

For applications for health coverage or questions regarding Medi-Cal eligibility, please refer to:

• Medi-Cal Eligibility coverage or questions

For reporting physician malpractice or a violation of medical practice laws:

• Medical Board of California Central Complaint Unit
• California toll-free line: 1-800-633-2322
• Phone: (916) 263-2424
• Fax: (916) 263-2435
• TDD: (916) 263-0935

Visit the DHCS’ HIPAA Page For General Information