Understanding HIPAA Training Requirements

Your organization is required to comply with a range of must adhere to a range of HIPAA requirements, and to do so, you must ensure that your workers are up-to-date with the requirements. This is where HIPAA training comes in. It is mandatory for all organizations that are in any way regulated by HIPAA.

Nonetheless, before embarking on the training, confirm if the training applies to you, the training topics based on the covered entities, and which group of employees must undertake the training.

HIPAA Training Requirements

HIPAA training requirements differ from one entity to the next and can therefore be termed as flexible. However, the training aims to help workers do their jobs without violating any HIPAA compliance provisions. It must, therefore, be necessary and appropriate to the specific staff members. Other than that, there are no particular requirements for training. 

The fact that organizations know they have to offer HIPAA training but are not sure of what type of training to offer makes HIPAA compliance somehow confusing. For instance, if an ePHI breach occurs due to a lack of training on a particular HIPAA matter, the liable CE or BA will face penalties for the violation.

Therefore, it is highly recommendable for organizations to review their risk assessments to establish how every individual who comes into contact with ePHI is affected by the training. This will help the organizations to come up with appropriate training programs based on every person’s role.

HIPAA Training Best Practices

Although there are no specific training requirements, there are some best practices that you should consider when establishing the appropriate training programs for each individual. These include;

The Training Sessions Should be Short and Relevant

One of the reasons people fail to undergo training is that most of the programs are long and tedious. The best way to motivate your employees to attend the sessions is to make them short and fun.

Teach the Consequences of HIPAA Breach

Explain the penalties and implications associated with every breach of HIPAA requirements. The aim is not to instill fear in the employees but to remind them that they should be careful in everything they do.

You Do Not Have to Quote Everything in the Guidebook

The best way to train workers is by compiling short notes to refer to. Only include the relevant information rather than quoting the long texts from the HIPAA guidebook. Do not teach the HIPAA compliance requirements for the sake of doing it. Make sure the trainees understand everything.

Document Your Training

Keeping a record of the training is essential for future reference, especially in cases of OCR investigation. You will use the documented information to prove that the training took place. With this, you will not be liable for any HIPAA breach.

Final Thoughts

While there are no specific requirements for HIPAA training, every program should be tailored to suit the trainees’ specific group. Conduct a risk assessment to establish how each individual is affected and then develop an appropriate program to help them comply with the requirements.