HIPAA Compliance Officer

A HIPAA compliance officer monitors their organization’s compliance with federal and state HIPAA rules and regulations. HIPAA compliance officers are responsible for researching available resources, and are trained to implement a total compliance program that addresses the privacy, security, and general compliance concerns of their organization. Communicating any organizational updates to policies or procedures in response to changes in regulatory requirements should be central to a HIPAA compliance officer’s role in maintaining total compliance throughout their entire organization.

Below, we’ve listed some of the key responsibilities and jobs that HIPAA compliance officers should be expected to maintain.

HIPAA Compliance Officer Job Description:

• A HIPAA compliance officer should routinely monitor state and federal HIPAA regulation. As new regulatory compliance officer requirements come up, a compliance officer should work to proactively modify their organization’s HIPAA compliance program to accommodate these changes.

• Once a HIPAA compliance officer has implemented changes to their organization’s compliance program, they should communicate any changes in policies or procedures with other departments within the organization. By maintaining a current working knowledge of applicable regulatory guidelines, the compliance officer should act as a resource for compliance concerns raised throughout the organization and coordinate with the appropriate departments to design and analyze the impact of any process changes required by HIPAA regulation.

• Like a HIPAA privacy officer, a HIPAA compliance officer must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of applicable privacy and security solutions in order to develop a thorough HIPAA compliance program. The HIPAA compliance officer should monitor and document progress towards the successful and timely implementation of an organization’s compliance program.

• HIPAA compliance officers should create a system that allows them to monitor the status of their organization’s HIPAA compliance. This system should allow the compliance officer to easily set priorities for their organization’s compliance program and to review the documented status of prior implementations in departments that have been most significantly affected.

• A HIPAA compliance officer should develop training material and courses to help employees understand new HIPAA regulation and how it will impact their organizational duties.