{"id":2914,"date":"2020-04-30T07:24:40","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T07:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.empowerelearning.com\/blog\/?p=2914"},"modified":"2020-10-23T05:01:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T05:01:18","slug":"how-do-i-get-a-hipaa-compliance-certificate-and-why-do-i-need-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empowerelearning.com\/blog\/how-do-i-get-a-hipaa-compliance-certificate-and-why-do-i-need-it\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I get a HIPAA compliance certificate \u2013 And why do I need it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A HIPAA Compliance certificate<\/strong> isn\u2019t just about knowing the healthcare law. It\u2019s about knowing how valuable patient health information, or the PHI, is, and what you can do to protect this information.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a healthcare worker, protecting patient information is one of the core everyday activities. You must understand your firm\u2019s policies and procedures that relate to patient PHI usage, sharing, and disclosure. These policies and procedures form the base of all healthcare activities. This includes, how you use, store, share, and disclose the patient information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The federal law has strict guidelines for the above mentioned activities. The HIPPA privacy and security rules govern how patient information is used for the above activities. There are strict guidelines governing the usage, sharing and disclosure of patient information. If you are working in healthcare, you must have a thorough understanding of how HIPAA applies to you. And, how your activities affect the safety and availability of patient information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why do I need a HIPAA compliance certificate?<\/b><\/h2>\n

When working for a healthcare firm, you would come across all sorts of patient health information. Much of it, such as a patient health status, medications, treatment history, and health plan are classified as protected. Under HIPAA, there are 18 identifiers that qualify as protected health information. The HIPAA privacy and security rules have strict guidelines in place for the security and protection of such information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If an organization is found non-compliant with HIPAA, it could lead to heavy fines or penalty, and even jail time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such fines and penalties can be avoided only by having strong security measures in place. You need to have technical, administrative, and physical safeguards for protecting patient information. Employee training is one such measure, and it\u2019s mandatory under HIPAA. HIPAA training<\/a> is all about understanding HIPAA, how it applies to your job, and the do\u2019s and don\u2019ts of working with patient health information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As per the privacy rule, HIPAA training is compulsory for everyone whose everyday activities may bring them in contact with protected health information. So, whether you work for a healthcare provider, a business associate, or a consultant, you need to attend a HIPAA training. This includes doctors, nurses, people working in a physician\u2019s office, and even subcontractors, such as janitorial services and mail delivery clerks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do I get a HIPAA compliance certificate?<\/b><\/h2>\n

To become a HIPAA compliant professional, you\u2019ll have to learn about:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Company policies and procedures of dealing with protected health information.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Information security standards, and how to detect, report, and prevent security incidents.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Changes to HIPAA rule and regulations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And, you must learn the ways to protect the confidentiality, availability and integrity of the PHI that crosses your desk. Along with this information, you should also know how to identify and report incidents that could lead to a HIPAA violation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    What\u2019s even more important is – how you get yourself trained, and the training program that you use for your training.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Ensure adequate training<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Too many training programs talk only about HIPAA as a law, and its language and the provisions. But, much of the information doesn\u2019t help with everyday activities. A 4-hour long course may look good. You may even be able to get a HIPAA compliance certificate, but it won\u2019t help in the long run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    As per HIPAA, your training should be about your firm\u2019s policies and procedures with regard to the patient health information that you deal with.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The best solution, then, is to use a training program chunked into smaller training courses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Every worker has a limited role, and their exposure to patient health information also differs as per their duties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Consider the following three healthcare jobs and their training needs:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n