What is HIPPA?

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA is the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The main aim of HIPAA is to make it easier for peopleto keep health insurance in case they lose or switch jobs, keep health information confidential and help the healthcare industry control administrative costs.

HIPAA is a series of rules and regulations that provide patient protections and define patients’ rights regarding their own health records. It tries to strike a balance between protecting people’s sensitive information and allowing that information to be disclosed for the purpose of providing medical care. The rules also detail standards and protocols individuals and organizations must follow to “assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability” of electronic health records.

Who needs HIPAA?

HIPAA applies to 2 groups: covered entities and business associates.

What is a ‘Covered Entity’ (CE)?: A covered entity could be a health plan, health care organization or health care provider who electronically transmits any health information.

What is a ‘Business Associate’ (BA)?: A business associate is a person or entity that performs certain activities that may involve the use or disclosure of protected health information (or offer services) to a covered entity.

Examples of Covered Entities

Doctors

Pharmacies

Health insurance companies

Company health plans

Examples of Business Associates

Attorney

IT providers

Billing and coding service providers

Laboratories

What are the benefits of HIPAA?

• Offers millions of patients the ability to transfer and continue health insurance coverage when they switch or lose their jobs.
• Gives patients more control over their health information.
• Informs patients how their health-related information may be used. Patients can examine and obtain a copy of their health records and request corrections, if needed.
• Reduces health care fraud.
• Establishes appropriate measures that healthcare providers need to meet for the protection and privacy of their patients’ health information.
• Holds violators accountable and imposes penalties.

Why is it important to be HIPAA compliant?

As a covered entity or business associate, you are legally responsible for safeguarding the privacy of your patients’ protected health information (PHI). But the reality is that a rising number of healthcare companies experience breaches of PHI and fail to comply with HIPAA privacy and security rules. Companies and individuals need to ensure that they remain HIPAA compliant, always.

Cases of compliance failure can lead to:

Fines: Hefty fines being levied against you.

Penalties: Big penalties could negatively affect your business

Investigations: Federal and state investigations with strict legal liabilities

How does online HIPAA training help to meet compliance?

Online HIPAA compliance training courses play a vital role in ensuring that employees receive adequate training on the subject and act in accordance with the law. To be HIPAA compliant, it is imperative that all employees on the job be aware of the security rules and regulations involved. With effective training, at least 80% of all breaches can be prevented if employees receive appropriate training in addition to ongoing HIPAA awareness courses.

Benefits of Online HIPAA Training

• Easy to create and administer.
• Customized training to accommodate information that may differ from state to state.
• Accessible on multiple devices such as tablets, desktops and laptops.
• Time spent on page can be tracked to understand learner engagement.
• Check if learners are skipping through the training material.
• Add quizzes to test learner knowledge.
• Analyze results to improve quality of training.
• Send notifications and reminders to ensure compliance.
• Save costs by centrally managing training.