HIPAA Training Requirements You Should Know About: A Closer Look

In 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services settled 19 HIPAA violation cases. With the right training, and knowing the requirements, this number could be little to none.

How do you know your company is following the HIPAA training requirements, though? What is the safety training supposed to entail?

If you're trying to find an online HIPAA training course, but aren't sure about requirements, look no further. We'll go over the HIPAA requirements in this article.

To learn what your employees need to know to protect themselves and their patients, read on.

General HIPAA Training Requirements

HIPAA training is mandatory training. All workforce members involved with protected health information must complete the course.

This training is an administrative requirement of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. It is also an administrative safeguard of the HIPAA Security Rule.

Based on the role of each employee, that dictates what you should include in your HIPAA training. To cover all your bases, it might be a good idea to have more than one training course.

HIPAA compliance is a requirement for all HIPAA-covered entities or business associates. Usually, only the employees that are in contact with PHI or ePHI need to complete the training. Qualifying employers must provide training to all employees, no matter their role in the company.

When to Provide Training

When a new employee joins the team, they will need to complete the training. They typically need this training completed in the first few days or weeks. Generally, you can knock it out in the onboarding process with the rest of the safety courses.

According to the Security Rule, they only require training every so often. Most healthcare providers want the training done annually. This keeps their HIPAA compliance up-to-date, so there is no chance of violations.

You should also provide training when there are new practices or new technology introduced.

Occasionally, the HHS will provide new rules and materials. When this happens, you'll have to get your employees up-to-date with a refresher.

What to Include in HIPAA Training?

There are some specific topics to cover when teaching the HIPAA course. Both rules have to be part of the training, which includes security and privacy.

Security Rule Topics

Some topics that you can include in your training are:

• Passwords
• Authentication
• Malicious software
• Phishing

These aren't the only topics you can cover, though. Other topics in security should get covered. Topics include physical documents and how to destroy them. Along with dangers with emails and websites.

Privacy Rule Topics

Unfortunately, with teaching the Privacy Rule, there isn't much structure to the training. Depending on the role of the employee, some topics will be more important than others.

Here are some important topics to discuss:

• Identifying PHI
• Confidentiality
• Patient rights
• Minimum Necessary rule
• When and how to disclose PHI
• Avoiding snooping

Many other topics hold great importance. It's critical to identify what is necessary for your training for your employees.

There can be severe consequences if these rules get broken. It's essential to protect your patients' rights and information. This ensures their data does not fall into the wrong hands.

Don't just pick a HIPAA course, know exactly what you're going to get. We offer great HIPAA courses online that meet the HIPAA compliance rules.

Requirements for Employers

Employers only need to follow the training requirements if they are covered entities. Qualifying employers need to train all employees, no matter what role they play.

Some employers aren't covered entities who have HIPAA-covered transactions. If this is the case, employees with access to the PHI or ePHI need HIPAA training.

Requirements for Employees

Employers require their employees to complete the training that they provide.

When discussing HIPAA rules and regulations, also discuss HIPAA violations along with consequences. The more your employees know, the better.

Once your employees complete the training, make sure you document it.

Refresher Requirements

It's always a good idea to provide refresher courses every so often. People don't always remember everything, and it's good to revisit the material, especially if they haven't seen it in a while.

The refresher should go over the old materials along with any new materials. You should remind employees why HIPAA is so important and what their patients' rights are.

Employees need to identify threats to patient data and respond quickly and appropriately. And they can only do this if their knowledge is up-to-date and accurate.

Frequently Asked Questions

With HIPAA training, there are always going to be questions surrounding the requirements. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions.

What Types of Organizations Need to Provide HIPAA Training?

All covered entities and business associates need to provide HIPAA training. This includes:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Business associates
• Subcontractors

This also includes anyone who comes in contact with Protected Health Information. When patient data is available to your workers, be safe and provide the training.

How Long Does the Training Have to Be?

There are no specific length requirements for HIPAA courses. As long as the course is long enough to get the message across effectively, it should be okay. This will ensure your employees remember and follow the rules to the best of their ability.

What Documentation Do We Need?

There is no particular form for HIPAA training. You need some type of documentation, though.

You should keep track of who completed the training and what the successful completion of the course looks like.

Knowledge checks or certificates are a good way to keep completed training documented. In case of an audit, these are your proof that your employees have the proper training to deal with PHI or ePHI.

What Are the Consequences of Inadequate Training?

Unfortunately, there are consequences of poor training. HIPAA rules and regulations are very important and employees need to follow them to avoid such consequences.

The HSS can issue penalties of up to $1.5 million per HIPAA violation. This is the maximum fine amount for a tier 4 violation. Depending on the violation, employees can suffer through civil or criminal penalties and even get terminated from their job.

Employees must understand these rules and follow them. You can avoid these consequences with the proper training and online course.

Choose the Right Online Training

Finding the right online training course doesn't have to be difficult. With these online courses, you can find the right safety course for your employees.

There is no need to worry about the HIPAA training requirements anymore. With our online training course, everything gets done for you. You will meet HIPAA compliance easily.

To find out more about our online training courses, contact us today.