If you are the subject of a Data Bank report, you have the right to add a subject statement to the report at any time. This does not mean that you can change or correct a report, because the reporting organization and the Secretary of HHS are the only ones who can modify or void a processed report, but it means you can add facts and information to support your position. Statements are reviewed by the Data Bank and may not include identifying patient or other individual confidential information such as names, addresses, or phone numbers.
Once processed, the statement becomes part of the report and remains with the report until you edit or remove it. The statement is sent to the reporting organization and all queriers who received a copy of your report in the last 3 years, and is included in future queries.
Note: You can choose to modify or remove a statement at any time through the Report Response Service.
To Submit a Statement to Your Report
You must access the Report Response Service to add, modify, or withdraw a statement.
- On the Data Bank Web site, click Respond to a Notification on the Data Bank home page. The Respond to a Notification page displays.
- On the Respond to a Notification page, enter the Report Number and Password provided in your notification of the report and then click Sign In.
- On the Report Response Options page, click Statement and Dispute. The Subject Statement and Dispute page appears.
- Read this page carefully. You can add a statement up to 4000 characters in the Subject Statement section. The statement may not include identifying patient or other individual confidential information such as names, addresses, or phone numbers. If such information is discovered in the statement, the statement will be amended and the identifying information will be removed.
Other Report Response Service Options
While in the Report Response Service, you can:
- Dispute a report that you feel is factually inaccurate by checking the box in the Dispute section.
Note: Once a report is in dispute, you must contact the reporting organization to try and resolve the dispute. If after 30 days, you and the reporting organization are unable to come to a resolution, you can elevate the report to Secretarial Review (doing so is optional). A report will remain in Dispute status unless you take another action to either elevate the report to Secretarial Review or remove it from the Dispute status. - Update your home or work address on the report. It is important to maintain current address information so you can receive future notifications relating to your report. After you update the address information, complete the certification information and click Continue.
- Elevate the report to Secretarial Review after 30 days in dispute.
Note: The request for Secretarial Review will not be processed unless you have placed the report in dispute and tried to resolve the issue with the reporting organization.
For additional information about the Report Response Service, see Verify and Update your Address, Dispute a Report, and Elevate a Report to Secretarial Review.