Following HIPAA can seem daunting at first, but it’s an important step for ensuring the privacy of your patients. This is where HIPAA training and certification can help. Whether you’re a healthcare provider on the front lines or an administrator managing compliance programs, understanding what HIPAA involves and requires is essential for a thriving healthcare environment.
In this blog, we'll break down the key components of HIPAA compliance and provide insight into how this credential can protect your career, your organization, and, most importantly, your patients’ trust.
What Is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) Act of 1996 protects the security, privacy, and integrity of protected health information. It does this through a set of rules and regulations. For example, the HIPAA Privacy Rule mandates protection of individually identifiable information, i.e., all information, including demographic data that can relate to a person's past, present, or future health condition, health care management, healthcare payment, and can be used to identify an individual. The HIPAA has a list of about 18 different identifiable health information, some of which include name, date of birth, email address, social security numbers, and so on.
Why Is HIPAA Compliance Important?
Noncompliance with HIPAA rules is costly. Noncompliance settlement fees can cost as much as $4.75 million. Our recent report of 2024 HIPAA violation cases can give you an idea of just how costly these settlement fees are. And it’s not just money. Noncompliance can cost you customers' trust and loyalty, damage your brand, and cause the snowball effect of bad press. In a most recent blog, we described the costs and consequences of HIPAA noncompliance and why HIPAA compliance matters for covered entities and their business associates.
How Do You Become HIPAA Certified?
Neither the HHS nor OCR recognize or endorse HIPAA certification. To earn HIPAA compliance, you must take a certification course or program through a third-party education program. Although many different certifications are available, keep in mind that HHS and OCR accept none. Additionally, the HHS warns organizations against false marketing claims that imply certain compliance training and materials are endorsed by the HHS or the OCR.
Does HIPAA Offer National Certification?
Unfortunately, some companies claim their training courses will provide you with a "2-year, nationally recognized certificate." This is a false claim because no software, product, or service is HIPAA-certified. Businesses advertising their courses this way are spreading misleading and inaccurate information to their customers. Unaccredited training companies are known for providing misleading and false information. It would help if you turned to a trusted and affordable provider for your HIPAA training, such as HIPAA Exams.
Benefits of HIPAA Certification
There are benefits to earning unofficial HIPAA certification. They include:
Demonstrated Knowledge and Expertise
HIPAA certification demonstrates knowledge and expertise. Obtaining a certification indicates that you have completed a training program that teaches you the provisions of HIPAA and the knowledge to apply it to your organization. Although HIPAA contains no standards for businesses and/or their workforces to justify compliance, a certification can increase customer’s trust. It can also show off expertise to potential employers.
Improved Compliance
Although certification does not confer compliance, it can improve your chances of staying compliant. If you have the right knowledge of HIPAA’s rules and regulations, chances are you are likely to obey them. Repetition is the mother of learning. Most HIPAA certification courses require periodic renewals through recertification exams. These recertification exams may seem repetitive, but they can drive retention, i.e., through exam preparation. This can improve compliance.
Career Advancement
Certification courses are useful add-ons to your CV. People may argue that certification courses don’t infer skill or abilities, and there may be some truth to this claim. However, the job market is more competitive than ever, so any add-on with the potential to give you an advantage is welcome. Lastly, it is common practice for recruiters to request evidence of continuing professional development in job applications. Certification courses are great examples of these. Our courses are accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education & Training (IACET) to provide 0.2CEU per course.
Reduced Risk of Penalties
HIPAA certification can reduce the risk of noncompliance charges, fines, and penalties. For example, our HIPAA Course for Business Associates teaches the impact of HIPAA’s Security, Privacy, and Omnibus Rule on covered entities and their business associates. It also teaches students how to draft a comprehensive business associate agreement that can reduce the risk of noncompliance charges and costs from HIPAA.
Common Misconceptions About HIPAA Certification
Certification Guarantees Compliance
HIPAA compliance is a continuous process. A HIPAA compliance certification earned today does not imply future HIPAA certification. Be careful not to confuse certification with compliance. You must be compliant, but no certification is required. If the OCR investigates your organization, a HIPAA certificate is meaningless as you will require more than an informal certification for an audit. You must prove what you have done to ensure the proper handling of PHI and show what you are doing to comply with HIPAA regulations in everyday operations.
Certification Is Mandatory
Do healthcare providers require HIPAA certification? According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), no. There is no standard provision in HIPAA that requires covered entities to obtain a certification of compliance.
Certification Is a One-Time Event
Most quality course providers require periodic recertification to demonstrate knowledge and competence. For example, most HIPAA exam courses are valid for two years and require recertification after. This is necessary for quality control. One reason is that our course reflects the latest updates introduced by HIPAA. Recertification is our way of updating our students on the latest changes and ensuring that our course reflects the current HIPAA practices.
Start Your HIPAA Training Today
HIPAA Exams has a vast catalog of HIPAA training courses and certification options to suit professionals from diverse fields, from healthcare workers to medical office staff and dental offices. Our courses also come with completion certificates that allow your organization to comply with HIPAA-mandated guidelines. Our in-depth courses teach all you need to know about HIPAA and how its rules and regulations relate to your job/business. Visit our website to get started today!
