HIPAA training is required for any organization that comes into contact, or has the potential to come into contact, with protected health information (PHI). PHI is defined by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as any “individually identifiable health information,” meaning any information that can be tied back to a specific patient. As a covered entity (CE), HIPAA business associate (BA), managed service provider (MSP) with healthcare clients, a group insurance plan, or a self-insured group insurance plan, you have the potential to access PHI; therefore, you are required to be HIPAA compliant. HIPAA training for Human Resources refers to training staff on HIPAA standards, as well as your administrative policies and procedures.

Why is HIPAA Training for Human Resources Important?

HIPAA training for Human Resources is important for several reasons. Training employees ensures that they know what is appropriate when accessing or disclosing PHI. The HIPAA regulation created industry standards for the proper use and disclosure of PHI, including the “minimum necessary” rule. This rule requires entities and employees to access only the minimum PHI they need to perform a job function. Accessing PHI outside of the parameters of your job is considered a PHI breach and potential HIPAA violation.

HIPAA training limits the risk of insider threats to PHI as employees understand how and when they should be accessing or disclosing PHI. Along with this training, it is important that staff are aware of your internal policies and procedures. Policies and procedures not only define how PHI may be used, they also provide employees with guidelines on what to do when they suspect a breach, and who they should report their suspicions to.

Do you have an effective HIPAA compliance program? Find out now by completing the HIPAA compliance checklist.

What Should HIPAA Training for Human Resources Include?

The HHS does not mandate specific training as HIPAA applies to a wide variety of organizations. However, when developing your HIPAA training for Human Resources program, the following topics should be covered:

• What is HIPAA Compliance?
• HIPAA Privacy Rule
• HIPAA Security Rule
• Why HIPAA is important?
• What are the 18 identifiers of PHI?
• Disclosures of PHI
• Safeguarding PHI
• HIPAA definitions
• Breach notification requirements
• Common HIPAA violations
• Business associate agreements
• Patients’ rights (for CEs)
• Employee sanctions

When Should HIPAA Training be Conducted?

All employees must be trained upon hiring as well as retrained annually. Additionally, if there are any changes in your business operations, your internal policies and procedures should be updated to reflect those changes. In this instance, employees should be retrained on your policies and procedures once the changes are put into effect.

How Do I Implement HIPAA Training?

As it is difficult to create a HIPAA training program that relates directly to your organization’s business practices, it is best to consult an expert. Hiring a HIPAA consultant to build your training program ensures that you have covered all of the training material necessary to comply with HIPAA regulations. 

The experts at Compliancy Group provide all of the HIPAA training that you need. With Compliancy Group’s HIPAA compliance software, clients can easily track their employees’ training progress. Within the training module, employees legally attest that they have read and understood the material they were trained on. This ensures that employees fully understand their obligation to HIPAA, while limiting the risk of insider breaches or accidental disclosures of PHI.